AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03)Design High-Performing ArchitecturesMedium
A research institution needs to store a vast amount of scientific data, totaling hundreds of petabytes. The data is rarely accessed (less than once a year) but must be retained for decades due to regulatory compliance. When retrieval is necessary, it can tolerate retrieval times of several hours. Cost optimization is the absolute highest priority. Which AWS storage class is the most appropriate for this requirement?
- AAmazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
- BAmazon S3 Standard
- CAmazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- DAmazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class in S3, designed for long-term archiving of data that is accessed rarely (e.g., once or twice a year). It supports retrieval times of several hours, which aligns perfectly with the requirement for data accessed less than once a year with tolerance for multi-hour retrieval.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval offers millisecond retrieval, which is unnecessary and more expensive than Deep Archive for data accessed less than once a year with multi-hour tolerance.
- B. Amazon S3 Standard is for frequently accessed data with millisecond access, making it too expensive for rarely accessed archival data.
- D. S3 One Zone-IA is for less frequently accessed data but still offers faster retrieval than Glacier classes and is not the lowest cost for long-term archival.
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
The lowest-cost Amazon S3 storage class, designed for long-term archiving of data that is accessed rarely (e.g., once or twice a year).
- Retrieval times typically range from 12 to 48 hours.
- Offers the lowest storage price per GB of all S3 classes.
- Ideal for regulatory compliance archives and long-term data retention.
- Provides 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability.
Memory trick: S3's classes, cost with graces, Standard, IA, Glacier's paces.