AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalDesign Solutions for Organizational ComplexityMedium
A global media company is migrating its archival video content, totaling petabytes of data, from on-premises tape libraries to AWS. The content is rarely accessed, but when requested, it must be retrieved within 12 hours. Cost optimization for storage is a primary concern. The company also needs to ensure data integrity and durability for decades. Which AWS storage solution should be recommended?
- AAmazon Elastic File System (EFS) Infrequent Access
- BAmazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
- CAmazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA)
- DAmazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class for archiving data that is rarely accessed, making it ideal for petabytes of archival video content. It offers retrieval options from minutes to 12 hours, meeting the company's requirement while providing high durability and data integrity.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Amazon EFS is a file system service, not an object storage service, and its infrequent access tier is designed for file system workloads, not petabyte-scale archival object storage.
- B. S3 Standard-IA is designed for data accessed less frequently but requires rapid access (milliseconds), making it more expensive than necessary for rarely accessed archival data with a 12-hour retrieval window.
- C. S3 One Zone-IA stores data in a single Availability Zone, offering lower cost than S3 Standard-IA but with less durability, which is not ideal for critical archival content requiring decades of data integrity.
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
The lowest-cost Amazon S3 storage class for long-term archival data that is accessed rarely, with retrieval times ranging from minutes to 12 hours.
- Offers the lowest storage price in AWS.
- Designed for data that can be retrieved within 12 hours.
- Provides 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability over many years.
Memory trick: Deep Archive is for deep, cheap, durability.