A company uses Azure Blob Storage to store application logs. The logs are generated continuously and need to be archived for compliance reasons for 7 years. During this 7-year period, the logs are rarely accessed, but when they are, they must be retrieved within a few hours. After 7 years, the logs must be permanently deleted. You need to configure a lifecycle management policy for the storage account.
- AMove blobs to Cool tier after 30 days, then delete after 7 years.
- BMove blobs to Archive tier immediately, then delete after 7 years.
- CMove blobs to Cool tier immediately, then move to Archive tier after 365 days, then delete after 7 years.
- DMove blobs to Archive tier after 30 days, then delete after 7 years.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Move blobs to Archive tier after 30 days, then delete after 7 years.
The requirement is for logs to be rarely accessed but retrievable within a few hours for 7 years. The Archive tier has the lowest storage cost but retrieval can take several hours, which fits the requirement. Moving to Archive after 30 days allows for initial processing or immediate access before the long-term archival. Deleting after 7 years meets the compliance requirement.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Cool tier is more expensive than Archive for long-term, infrequent storage and does not optimize costs as much.
- B. Moving to Archive immediately might incur early retrieval costs if logs are accessed within the first 30 days, which is common for new logs.
- C. This option adds an unnecessary Cool tier step, increasing costs and complexity without clear benefit over direct Archive transition after an initial period.
Azure Blob Archive Tier
The Azure Blob Archive tier is the lowest-cost storage tier for rarely accessed data with flexible latency requirements (up to several hours). It's ideal for long-term backups, archival, and compliance data.
- Lowest storage cost, highest access cost.
- Retrieval latency can be several hours.
- Requires rehydration to Hot or Cool tier for read access.
- Ideal for data with retention periods of months or years.
Memory trick: Hot for frequent, Cool for occasional, Archive for rare, Lifecycle for automation.