AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – AssociateReliability and Business ContinuityMedium
A global media company uses Amazon S3 to store petabytes of archived video and audio content. This content is rarely retrieved, but when it is, legal and compliance teams require that it be retrieved within 12 hours. The company needs to minimize storage costs as much as possible. Which S3 storage class should the SysOps Administrator recommend for this archived content?
- AS3 Glacier Deep Archive.
- BS3 Glacier Instant Retrieval.
- CS3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval.
- DS3 Standard-IA.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval.
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (formerly S3 Glacier) offers retrieval options ranging from minutes (Expedited) to several hours (Standard, typically 3-5 hours), making it suitable for the 'within 12 hours' requirement. It is also significantly cheaper than S3 Standard-IA and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, while being more expensive but faster to retrieve than S3 Glacier Deep Archive.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. S3 Glacier Deep Archive has the lowest storage cost but retrieval times are typically 12-48 hours (Standard), which might exceed the 'within 12 hours' requirement, especially for larger datasets.
- B. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval offers millisecond retrieval but is more expensive than Flexible Retrieval, which isn't necessary for a 12-hour window.
- D. S3 Standard-IA is for infrequently accessed data that needs rapid access, but it is significantly more expensive than Glacier storage classes for archival purposes.
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval is a low-cost Amazon S3 storage class designed for archiving data that is rarely accessed, with retrieval options ranging from minutes to hours.
- Extremely low storage costs.
- Retrieval options: Expedited (minutes), Standard (3-5 hours), Bulk (5-12 hours).
- Suitable for long-term archives with flexible retrieval time needs.
- Formerly known as S3 Glacier.
Memory trick: Instant for fast, Flexible for medium, Deep for slow and cheap.