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A pharmaceutical company is conducting a large-scale genomics study, generating petabytes of raw genetic sequence data. They need a highly scalable and secure storage solution that can store these large files for long-term archival while still allowing occasional access for research purposes. Cost-effectiveness for infrequent access is a critical factor. Which Google Cloud Storage class is most appropriate for this scenario?
- AColdline Storage
- BNearline Storage
- CStandard Storage
- DArchive Storage
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Archive Storage
For long-term archival with infrequent access (less than once a year) and maximum cost-effectiveness, Archive Storage is the most appropriate choice. It offers the lowest storage cost, though with higher retrieval costs and latency, which is acceptable for occasional research access.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Coldline Storage is for data accessed less than once a quarter, better than Nearline but not as cost-effective as Archive for true archival.
- B. Nearline Storage is for data accessed less than once a month, not ideal for very infrequent access.
- C. Standard Storage is for frequently accessed data, making it too expensive for archival.
Google Cloud Storage Classes
Different storage classes within Cloud Storage optimized for various data access frequencies and cost profiles.
- Standard: Frequent access.
- Nearline: Less than once a month.
- Coldline: Less than once a quarter.
- Archive: Less than once a year (lowest cost, highest retrieval latency/cost).
Memory trick: Standard is hot, Nearline is warm, Coldline is cool, Archive is frozen.