Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Develop for Azure storageMedium
An application uses Azure Blob Storage to store millions of small log files (average size 10 KB). These files are rarely accessed after the first 30 days but must be retained for compliance reasons for 7 years. Retrieving these files can tolerate several hours of delay. To minimize storage costs, which Blob Storage access tier should you configure for files older than 30 days?
- ACool
- BPremium
- CArchive
- DHot
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Archive
The Archive tier is optimized for rarely accessed data that can tolerate several hours of retrieval latency. It offers the lowest storage costs but the highest access costs and latency, making it ideal for long-term retention of infrequently accessed data like compliance logs.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Cool tier is for infrequently accessed data (30 days minimum retention) but has higher storage costs than Archive and lower retrieval latency (minutes).
- B. Premium tier is for high-performance, low-latency data and is significantly more expensive.
- D. Hot tier is for frequently accessed data, incurring higher storage costs.
Azure Blob Archive Tier
The lowest-cost storage tier for Azure Blob Storage, optimized for rarely accessed data with flexible latency requirements (hours).
- Lowest storage cost.
- Highest retrieval latency (hours).
- High retrieval cost.
- Ideal for long-term retention and compliance.
Memory trick: Think of Hot, Cool, and Archive as a 'temperature' scale for data access.