Amazon AWS SAA-C03 Cost-Optimized Storage, Tiering, Lifecycle, Backup, Archive, and Transfer Practice Test 1

 

Topic 17 Practice Test 1 covers Cost-Optimized Storage, Tiering, Lifecycle, Backup, Archive, and Transfer for AWS SAA-C03. For broader exam preparation, review the AWS SAA-C03 Exam Dumps. Every option includes focused technical reasoning explaining both the AWS architecture concept and its fit to the scenario.

Question 1

A media analytics bucket receives objects whose popularity changes unpredictably. Some objects are read every day, while others become cold for months, and the team does not want to maintain per-prefix transition rules. Which storage design best reduces storage cost while adapting automatically to changing access? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Standard-IA
2. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
3. S3 Standard
4. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. S3 Standard-IA stores long-lived cold objects with multi-AZ resilience and immediate access, using lower capacity pricing plus access fees. This case requires automatically follow unpredictable access changes without hand-tuned age rules. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
2. S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves eligible objects among access tiers as their observed access pattern changes, with optional asynchronous archive tiers. The requirement is to automatically follow unpredictable access changes without hand-tuned age rules. Intelligent-Tiering observes eligible object access and moves data among access tiers rather than assuming one fixed access pattern.
3. S3 Standard provides general-purpose multi-AZ object storage for frequently accessed data without minimum storage-duration charges. Its storage price is higher than colder classes, so predictable long-lived archives can usually be stored more cheaply elsewhere. Because the scenario must automatically follow unpredictable access changes without hand-tuned age rules, this option misses adaptive object tiering.
4. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval provides low-cost archive storage for data that can tolerate restore workflows measured in minutes to hours. Objects require restore before normal access, so it cannot satisfy workloads that need synchronous millisecond reads. Because the scenario must automatically follow unpredictable access changes without hand-tuned age rules, this option misses adaptive object tiering.

 

Question 2

A medical imaging archive keeps studies for five years. Images are normally opened only during quarterly specialist reviews, but when a clinician requests one, the application must display it immediately without a restore job. Which S3 storage class best fits? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Standard-IA
2. S3 Glacier Deep Archive
3. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. S3 Standard-IA keeps infrequently accessed objects across several Availability Zones while retaining millisecond reads and charging for retrievals. Its 30-day minimum and retrieval charges weaken the economics for short-lived or frequently read objects. Because the scenario must lower archive storage cost while preserving millisecond retrieval for quarterly reads, this option misses instant archive retrieval.
2. S3 Glacier Deep Archive provides Amazon S3’s lowest-cost long-term archive tier for data that can tolerate hours-long restoration. This case requires lower archive storage cost while preserving millisecond retrieval for quarterly reads. The 180-day minimum duration and long restore window make it unsuitable for shorter retention or rapid operational recovery.
3. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval provides low-cost archive storage for data that can tolerate restore workflows measured in minutes to hours. This case requires lower archive storage cost while preserving millisecond retrieval for quarterly reads. Objects require restore before normal access, so it cannot satisfy workloads that need synchronous millisecond reads.
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval places archive data in a lower-cost class while still providing millisecond retrieval for each object. The requirement is to lower archive storage cost while preserving millisecond retrieval for quarterly reads. Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for long-lived archives that are seldom read but still require real-time object access.

 

Question 3

A legal department retains case exports for three years. A case may be reopened once or twice each year, and waiting several hours for a restore is acceptable. Which S3 class best matches the access pattern without paying for instant retrieval? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
2. S3 Standard-IA
3. S3 Glacier Deep Archive
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval provides low-cost archive storage for data that can tolerate restore workflows measured in minutes to hours. The requirement is to store rare archives cheaply when minutes-to-hours restore time is acceptable. Glacier Flexible Retrieval trades immediate access for lower archive cost and matches data that is only occasionally restored.
2. S3 Standard-IA stores long-lived cold objects with multi-AZ resilience and immediate access, using lower capacity pricing plus access fees. This case requires store rare archives cheaply when minutes-to-hours restore time is acceptable. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
3. S3 Glacier Deep Archive provides Amazon S3’s lowest-cost long-term archive tier for data that can tolerate hours-long restoration. This case requires store rare archives cheaply when minutes-to-hours restore time is acceptable. The 180-day minimum duration and long restore window make it unsuitable for shorter retention or rapid operational recovery.
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval combines archive-oriented capacity pricing with real-time access for long-lived data that is seldom opened. Objects expected to disappear quickly or be read often do not fit its archive-duration and access-cost model. Because the scenario must store rare archives cheaply when minutes-to-hours restore time is acceptable, this option misses occasional archive restore.

 

Question 4

A regulated finance dataset must be retained for seven years. It is almost never read, and an audit request can wait until the next business day for restoration. Which storage class is the most cost-optimized fit? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
2. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
3. S3 Glacier Deep Archive
4. S3 Standard-IA

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval provides low-cost archive storage for data that can tolerate restore workflows measured in minutes to hours. This case requires minimize multi-year retention cost for data accessed less than annually. Objects require restore before normal access, so it cannot satisfy workloads that need synchronous millisecond reads.
2. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval places archive data in a lower-cost class while still providing millisecond retrieval for each object. Its 90-day minimum and retrieval pricing are a poor match for short retention or frequent reads. Because the scenario must minimize multi-year retention cost for data accessed less than annually, this option misses long-term compliance archive.
3. S3 Glacier Deep Archive provides Amazon S3’s lowest-cost long-term archive tier for data that can tolerate hours-long restoration. The requirement is to minimize multi-year retention cost for data accessed less than annually. Deep Archive is the lowest-cost S3 archive tier and the long restore window is compatible with the stated audit process.
4. S3 Standard-IA keeps infrequently accessed objects across several Availability Zones while retaining millisecond reads and charging for retrievals. Its 30-day minimum and retrieval charges weaken the economics for short-lived or frequently read objects. Because the scenario must minimize multi-year retention cost for data accessed less than annually, this option misses long-term compliance archive.

 

Question 5

A photo-processing pipeline stores generated thumbnails for 90 days after publication. Thumbnails are rarely viewed after the first week, can be recreated from original images, and the business accepts losing the copies if one Availability Zone is lost. Which S3 class is the best cost choice for the cold period? Choose ONE.

1. S3 One Zone-IA
2. S3 Standard
3. S3 Standard-IA
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. S3 One Zone-IA stores cold recreatable objects inside one chosen Availability Zone and prices capacity below multi-AZ infrequent-access storage. The requirement is to reduce infrequent-access cost for recreatable data when single-AZ resilience is acceptable. One Zone-IA deliberately exchanges multi-AZ resilience for a lower storage price, which is appropriate because the thumbnails can be rebuilt.
2. S3 Standard provides general-purpose multi-AZ object storage for frequently accessed data without minimum storage-duration charges. Its storage price is higher than colder classes, so predictable long-lived archives can usually be stored more cheaply elsewhere. Because the scenario must reduce infrequent-access cost for recreatable data when single-AZ resilience is acceptable, this option misses recreatable single-AZ objects.
3. S3 Standard-IA stores long-lived cold objects with multi-AZ resilience and immediate access, using lower capacity pricing plus access fees. This case requires reduce infrequent-access cost for recreatable data when single-AZ resilience is acceptable. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval combines archive-oriented capacity pricing with real-time access for long-lived data that is seldom opened. This case requires reduce infrequent-access cost for recreatable data when single-AZ resilience is acceptable. Objects expected to disappear quickly or be read often do not fit its archive-duration and access-cost model.

 

Question 6

An engineering firm keeps large design packages that are downloaded about once per month. The packages must remain immediately readable and must survive the loss of an Availability Zone. Which S3 class best meets those requirements at lower cost than hot storage? Choose ONE.

1. S3 One Zone-IA
2. S3 Standard
3. S3 Standard-IA
4. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. S3 One Zone-IA stores cold recreatable objects inside one chosen Availability Zone and prices capacity below multi-AZ infrequent-access storage. This case requires combine infrequent access economics with multi-AZ resilience and millisecond reads. Loss of that selected Availability Zone can make the data unavailable, so irreplaceable data needing regional resilience belongs elsewhere.
2. S3 Standard provides general-purpose multi-AZ object storage for frequently accessed data without minimum storage-duration charges. Its storage price is higher than colder classes, so predictable long-lived archives can usually be stored more cheaply elsewhere. Because the scenario must combine infrequent access economics with multi-AZ resilience and millisecond reads, this option misses resilient infrequent access.
3. S3 Standard-IA keeps infrequently accessed objects across several Availability Zones while retaining millisecond reads and charging for retrievals. The requirement is to combine infrequent access economics with multi-AZ resilience and millisecond reads. Standard-IA retains multi-AZ resilience and immediate access while charging less for storage when objects are long-lived and rarely read.
4. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval provides low-cost archive storage for data that can tolerate restore workflows measured in minutes to hours. This case requires combine infrequent access economics with multi-AZ resilience and millisecond reads. Objects require restore before normal access, so it cannot satisfy workloads that need synchronous millisecond reads.

 

Question 7

A web application serves product images thousands of times per hour. Objects are replaced unpredictably and some are deleted within two weeks. Which S3 class avoids minimum-duration and retrieval-cost penalties for this hot, short-lived workload? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
2. S3 Standard-IA
3. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
4. S3 Standard

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval combines archive-oriented capacity pricing with real-time access for long-lived data that is seldom opened. This case requires serve frequently read, sometimes short-lived objects without retrieval or minimum-duration economics. Objects expected to disappear quickly or be read often do not fit its archive-duration and access-cost model.
2. S3 Standard-IA stores long-lived cold objects with multi-AZ resilience and immediate access, using lower capacity pricing plus access fees. This case requires serve frequently read, sometimes short-lived objects without retrieval or minimum-duration economics. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
3. S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves eligible objects among access tiers as their observed access pattern changes, with optional asynchronous archive tiers. This case requires serve frequently read, sometimes short-lived objects without retrieval or minimum-duration economics. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
4. S3 Standard provides general-purpose multi-AZ object storage for frequently accessed data without minimum storage-duration charges. The requirement is to serve frequently read, sometimes short-lived objects without retrieval or minimum-duration economics. S3 Standard is intended for frequent access and does not impose the colder-tier minimum-duration model that would punish this churn.

 

Question 8

An IoT system produces hundreds of millions of immutable 20 KB JSON records. After 30 days, analysts almost always retrieve them by daily batch, not individually. Per-object archive overhead is becoming material. Which design change most directly improves storage economics before colder tiering? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
2. Aggregate small records into larger S3 objects
3. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
4. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves eligible objects among access tiers as their observed access pattern changes, with optional asynchronous archive tiers. This case requires reduce request and archive metadata overhead created by enormous numbers of tiny objects. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
2. Aggregate small records into larger S3 objects reduces per-object request, transition, and archive metadata overhead by packaging many tiny records into fewer larger objects. Packaging small immutable records into larger batch objects reduces per-object overhead and aligns the stored unit with the way analysts retrieve the data. That outcome matches small-object economics for this workload.
3. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval places archive data in a lower-cost class while still providing millisecond retrieval for each object. This case requires reduce request and archive metadata overhead created by enormous numbers of tiny objects. Its 90-day minimum and retrieval pricing are a poor match for short retention or frequent reads.
4. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics provides organization-scale visibility into storage usage and cost opportunities such as old multipart parts and noncurrent versions. This case requires reduce request and archive metadata overhead created by enormous numbers of tiny objects. It identifies optimization opportunities but does not itself transition or delete data.

 

Question 9

A bucket contains application logs that have no legal or operational value after 365 days. The team wants deletion to happen automatically without a recurring cleanup job. What should the architect configure? Choose ONE.

1. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action
2. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration
3. S3 Lifecycle expiration
4. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action stops multipart uploads that never complete and removes their stored parts after a chosen number of days. It affects incomplete uploads only and does not expire completed objects or previous versions. Because the scenario must automatically delete current log objects when their approved retention ends, this option misses current-object expiration.
2. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration permanently removes older object versions after they have remained noncurrent for the configured period. This case requires automatically delete current log objects when their approved retention ends. It targets noncurrent versions rather than the live current version, so it does not implement ordinary current-object retention.
3. S3 Lifecycle expiration enforces time-based deletion of current S3 objects without a separate cleanup application. The scenario requires automatically delete current log objects when their approved retention ends. Lifecycle expiration directly enforces age-based deletion of current objects and removes the need for custom cleanup code. This directly resolves current-object expiration.
4. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics provides organization-scale visibility into storage usage and cost opportunities such as old multipart parts and noncurrent versions. It identifies optimization opportunities but does not itself transition or delete data. Because the scenario must automatically delete current log objects when their approved retention ends, this option misses current-object expiration.

 

Question 10

A versioned S3 bucket must keep superseded configuration files for 45 days to support rollback. Older noncurrent versions should then be permanently removed while the current version remains. Which control fits? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration
2. S3 Lifecycle removal of expired object delete markers
3. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action
4. S3 Lifecycle expiration

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration permanently removes older object versions after they have remained noncurrent for the configured period. The scenario requires retain current objects while deleting previous versions after a bounded rollback window. Noncurrent-version expiration targets superseded versions specifically, preserving the live current object while enforcing the rollback-retention limit. This directly resolves version-history retention.
2. S3 Lifecycle removal of expired object delete markers cleans delete markers that no longer have any noncurrent versions behind them in a versioned bucket. This case requires retain current objects while deleting previous versions after a bounded rollback window. It does not replace noncurrent-version expiration while older versions still exist.
3. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action stops multipart uploads that never complete and removes their stored parts after a chosen number of days. This case requires retain current objects while deleting previous versions after a bounded rollback window. It affects incomplete uploads only and does not expire completed objects or previous versions.
4. S3 Lifecycle expiration removes current objects automatically after the age defined by a lifecycle rule. The scenario instead requires retain current objects while deleting previous versions after a bounded rollback window. It does not automatically purge previous versions or unfinished multipart parts. That limitation conflicts with version-history retention.

 

Question 11

A data-ingestion service frequently fails during large uploads. S3 shows terabytes of multipart parts from uploads that were never completed, and those parts keep generating storage charges. Which control should be added? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics
2. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action
3. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration
4. S3 Lifecycle expiration

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics provides organization-scale visibility into storage usage and cost opportunities such as old multipart parts and noncurrent versions. It identifies optimization opportunities but does not itself transition or delete data. Because the scenario must remove abandoned multipart-upload parts after a defined number of days, this option misses abandoned multipart cleanup.
2. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle action stops multipart uploads that never complete and removes their stored parts after a chosen number of days. The requirement is to remove abandoned multipart-upload parts after a defined number of days. AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload is the lifecycle action that stops stale multipart uploads and releases the stored parts producing the charge.
3. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration permanently removes older object versions after they have remained noncurrent for the configured period. This case requires remove abandoned multipart-upload parts after a defined number of days. It targets noncurrent versions rather than the live current version, so it does not implement ordinary current-object retention.
4. S3 Lifecycle expiration enforces time-based deletion of current S3 objects without a separate cleanup application. The scenario instead requires remove abandoned multipart-upload parts after a defined number of days. Current-object expiration leaves other storage categories, such as noncurrent versions and abandoned upload parts, untouched. That limitation conflicts with abandoned multipart cleanup.

 

Question 12

One S3 bucket holds both regulated records tagged `retain=7y` and disposable processing output under the `tmp/` prefix. Only the regulated records should transition to archive; the temporary output must follow a different policy. How should the archive rule be scoped? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Storage Class Analysis
2. S3 Lifecycle expiration
3. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
4. An S3 Lifecycle rule filtered by prefix and object tags

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. S3 Storage Class Analysis analyzes access patterns to help determine when objects are good candidates to transition from Standard to Standard-IA. This case requires apply archive actions only to objects matching the intended business metadata or key space. It does not automatically move objects and is not a substitute for Intelligent-Tiering when access patterns remain unpredictable.
2. S3 Lifecycle expiration removes current objects automatically after the age defined by a lifecycle rule. The scenario instead requires apply archive actions only to objects matching the intended business metadata or key space. It does not automatically purge previous versions or unfinished multipart parts. That limitation conflicts with targeted lifecycle policy.
3. S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves eligible objects among access tiers as their observed access pattern changes, with optional asynchronous archive tiers. This case requires apply archive actions only to objects matching the intended business metadata or key space. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
4. An S3 Lifecycle rule filtered by prefix and object tags applies transition or expiration actions only to objects that match the selected naming and metadata criteria. A lifecycle filter can combine prefix and tag criteria so the archive transition does not spill into unrelated temporary data. That outcome matches targeted lifecycle policy for this workload.

 

Question 13

A research bucket uses S3 Intelligent-Tiering because access is unpredictable. Data older than six months can tolerate restore delays of hours, and the team wants even lower cost for these very cold objects without writing separate lifecycle rules. What should be enabled? Choose ONE.

1. An S3 Lifecycle rule filtered by prefix and object tags
2. S3 Glacier Deep Archive
3. S3 Standard-IA
4. Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering Archive Access tiers

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. An S3 Lifecycle rule filtered by prefix and object tags applies transition or expiration actions only to objects that match the selected naming and metadata criteria. This case requires extend adaptive tiering into asynchronous archive tiers for sufficiently cold objects. A bucket-wide unfiltered rule would change objects outside the intended compliance or business subset.
2. S3 Glacier Deep Archive provides Amazon S3’s lowest-cost long-term archive tier for data that can tolerate hours-long restoration. This case requires extend adaptive tiering into asynchronous archive tiers for sufficiently cold objects. The 180-day minimum duration and long restore window make it unsuitable for shorter retention or rapid operational recovery.
3. S3 Standard-IA stores long-lived cold objects with multi-AZ resilience and immediate access, using lower capacity pricing plus access fees. This case requires extend adaptive tiering into asynchronous archive tiers for sufficiently cold objects. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
4. Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering Archive Access tiers lets Intelligent-Tiering move sufficiently cold eligible objects into asynchronous Archive Access or Deep Archive Access tiers. The requirement is to extend adaptive tiering into asynchronous archive tiers for sufficiently cold objects. Enabling Intelligent-Tiering archive tiers preserves automatic access-pattern management while allowing old eligible objects to enter lower-cost asynchronous tiers.

 

Question 14

A cloud center of excellence manages hundreds of S3 buckets across many accounts. It first needs to identify where noncurrent versions, old multipart parts, and other avoidable storage are concentrated before changing policies. Which service view is most useful? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Lifecycle expiration
2. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics
3. S3 Storage Class Analysis
4. S3 Inventory

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. S3 Lifecycle expiration removes current objects automatically after the age defined by a lifecycle rule. The scenario instead requires find organization-scale S3 cost anomalies and optimization opportunities before remediation. It does not automatically purge previous versions or unfinished multipart parts. That limitation conflicts with organization-wide storage visibility.
2. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics provides organization-scale visibility into storage usage and cost opportunities such as old multipart parts and noncurrent versions. Storage Lens aggregates cost-optimization metrics across buckets and accounts, which makes it suitable for locating the biggest sources of waste. That outcome matches organization-wide storage visibility for this workload.
3. S3 Storage Class Analysis analyzes access patterns to help determine when objects are good candidates to transition from Standard to Standard-IA. This case requires find organization-scale S3 cost anomalies and optimization opportunities before remediation. It does not automatically move objects and is not a substitute for Intelligent-Tiering when access patterns remain unpredictable.
4. S3 Inventory produces scheduled object-level listings with metadata such as size, storage class, encryption, and version information. It is a reporting dataset rather than an automatic tiering engine or real-time performance mechanism. Because the scenario must find organization-scale S3 cost anomalies and optimization opportunities before remediation, this option misses organization-wide storage visibility.

 

Question 15

A compliance team needs a weekly CSV or Parquet-style object listing for a 4-billion-object bucket, including storage class, size, encryption state, and version information. The output will feed an offline cost-analysis job. Which S3 feature should be used? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
2. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics
3. S3 Inventory
4. S3 Storage Class Analysis

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves eligible objects among access tiers as their observed access pattern changes, with optional asynchronous archive tiers. This case requires produce a scheduled object-level metadata dataset for offline analysis at massive scale. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
2. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics provides organization-scale visibility into storage usage and cost opportunities such as old multipart parts and noncurrent versions. This case requires produce a scheduled object-level metadata dataset for offline analysis at massive scale. It identifies optimization opportunities but does not itself transition or delete data.
3. S3 Inventory produces scheduled object-level listings with metadata such as size, storage class, encryption, and version information. The requirement is to produce a scheduled object-level metadata dataset for offline analysis at massive scale. S3 Inventory generates periodic object listings with configurable metadata without requiring expensive live LIST scans over the entire namespace.
4. S3 Storage Class Analysis analyzes access patterns to help determine when objects are good candidates to transition from Standard to Standard-IA. This case requires produce a scheduled object-level metadata dataset for offline analysis at massive scale. It does not automatically move objects and is not a substitute for Intelligent-Tiering when access patterns remain unpredictable.

 

Question 16

A 2 TiB gp2 volume was provisioned mainly to obtain more IOPS, but the application stores only 400 GiB and needs a steady 6,000 IOPS. Which EBS change can reduce storage cost while preserving independently provisioned SSD performance? Choose ONE.

1. EBS gp3
2. Delete unused EBS volumes after taking any required final snapshot
3. EBS sc1 Cold HDD
4. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. EBS gp3 provides general-purpose SSD storage with capacity, IOPS, and throughput provisioned independently. The requirement is to decouple SSD performance from provisioned capacity so the volume need not be oversized. gp3 allows capacity, IOPS, and throughput to be set separately, eliminating the gp2 habit of buying extra GiB merely to raise baseline performance.
2. Delete unused EBS volumes after taking any required final snapshot eliminates ongoing provisioned-volume charges when block devices are detached and no longer needed. This case requires decouple SSD performance from provisioned capacity so the volume need not be oversized. Keeping the detached volume continues charging for provisioned storage even though no instance consumes it.
3. EBS sc1 Cold HDD provides the lowest-cost EBS block storage for infrequently accessed workloads dominated by large sequential I/O. This case requires decouple SSD performance from provisioned capacity so the volume need not be oversized. Its low IOPS and throughput profile is unsuitable for transactional or latency-sensitive random I/O.
4. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD delivers low-cost magnetic storage optimized for frequently accessed, large sequential I/O and high throughput. This case requires decouple SSD performance from provisioned capacity so the volume need not be oversized. It performs poorly for small random I/O and cannot be used as a boot volume.

 

Question 17

A Hadoop-style processing node scans multi-terabyte files sequentially throughout the day. The volume is not a boot device, random I/O is unimportant, and the team wants lower cost than SSD. Which EBS type is appropriate? Choose ONE.

1. EBS gp3
2. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD
3. EBS Snapshots Archive
4. EBS sc1 Cold HDD

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

2. EBS gp3 provides general-purpose SSD storage with capacity, IOPS, and throughput provisioned independently. This case requires provide economical block storage for frequently accessed large sequential reads and writes. It is not the right choice for throughput-oriented HDD workloads or for the highest sustained IOPS requirements that justify io2.
3. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD delivers low-cost magnetic storage optimized for frequently accessed, large sequential I/O and high throughput. The requirement is to provide economical block storage for frequently accessed large sequential reads and writes. st1 is optimized for throughput-heavy sequential workloads, matching the access shape without paying for SSD random-I/O capability.
4. EBS Snapshots Archive moves rarely accessed EBS snapshots to a lower-cost archive tier after converting the archived snapshot to a full snapshot. This case requires provide economical block storage for frequently accessed large sequential reads and writes. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
5. EBS sc1 Cold HDD provides the lowest-cost EBS block storage for infrequently accessed workloads dominated by large sequential I/O. This case requires provide economical block storage for frequently accessed large sequential reads and writes. Its low IOPS and throughput profile is unsuitable for transactional or latency-sensitive random I/O.

 

Question 18

A cold data-processing volume is mounted only during a monthly reconciliation job. It contains large sequential files, is not bootable, and low throughput is acceptable. Which EBS type minimizes ongoing block-storage cost? Choose ONE.

1. EBS Snapshots Archive
2. EBS gp3
3. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD
4. EBS sc1 Cold HDD

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. EBS Snapshots Archive moves rarely accessed EBS snapshots to a lower-cost archive tier after converting the archived snapshot to a full snapshot. This case requires retain rarely accessed sequential block data at the lowest EBS volume cost. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
2. EBS gp3 provides general-purpose SSD storage with capacity, IOPS, and throughput provisioned independently. It is not the right choice for throughput-oriented HDD workloads or for the highest sustained IOPS requirements that justify io2. Because the scenario must retain rarely accessed sequential block data at the lowest EBS volume cost, this option misses cold block storage.
3. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD delivers low-cost magnetic storage optimized for frequently accessed, large sequential I/O and high throughput. This case requires retain rarely accessed sequential block data at the lowest EBS volume cost. It performs poorly for small random I/O and cannot be used as a boot volume.
4. EBS sc1 Cold HDD provides the lowest-cost EBS block storage for infrequently accessed workloads dominated by large sequential I/O. sc1 is the cold HDD tier and is appropriate when access is rare and the workload can tolerate its lower performance. That outcome matches cold block storage for this workload.

 

Question 19

A migration project ended, leaving 80 detached EBS volumes that no instance uses. Owners confirm the data is obsolete, except policy requires one recoverable final point-in-time copy for six months. Which action best reduces cost? Choose ONE.

1. Delete unused EBS volumes after taking any required final snapshot
2. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots
3. EBS gp3
4. Disable Fast Snapshot Restore where immediate volume initialization is no longer required

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. Delete unused EBS volumes after taking any required final snapshot eliminates ongoing provisioned-volume charges when block devices are detached and no longer needed. Taking the required snapshot and deleting the detached volumes removes recurring volume charges while preserving the mandated final recovery copy. That outcome matches retired EBS cleanup for this workload.
2. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots automates creation, retention, and expiration schedules for EBS snapshots and AMI-backed policies. This case requires stop paying for retired provisioned volumes while retaining only the required recovery point. It is focused on EC2/EBS lifecycle automation rather than general S3 object-class transitions or cross-service backup policy.
3. EBS gp3 provides general-purpose SSD storage with capacity, IOPS, and throughput provisioned independently. This case requires stop paying for retired provisioned volumes while retaining only the required recovery point. It is not the right choice for throughput-oriented HDD workloads or for the highest sustained IOPS requirements that justify io2.
4. Disable Fast Snapshot Restore where immediate volume initialization is no longer required stops paying for Fast Snapshot Restore availability-zone acceleration while retaining the underlying snapshot. This case requires stop paying for retired provisioned volumes while retaining only the required recovery point. Disabling it sacrifices the specific immediate full-performance benefit that FSR provides to newly created volumes.

 

Question 20

A quarterly compliance snapshot must be retained for two years. It is almost never restored, and a restore can wait for the snapshot to return to the standard tier. Which EBS feature most directly lowers snapshot storage cost? Choose ONE.

1. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots
2. Account for EBS snapshot incremental block references before deleting snapshots
3. EBS Snapshots Archive
4. Disable Fast Snapshot Restore where immediate volume initialization is no longer required

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots automates creation, retention, and expiration schedules for EBS snapshots and AMI-backed policies. This case requires lower the price of a rarely restored snapshot that will remain retained well beyond 90 days. It is focused on EC2/EBS lifecycle automation rather than general S3 object-class transitions or cross-service backup policy.
2. Account for EBS snapshot incremental block references before deleting snapshots recognizes that deleting one snapshot removes only blocks that no later snapshot still references. This case requires lower the price of a rarely restored snapshot that will remain retained well beyond 90 days. Treating every snapshot as an independent full copy leads to incorrect savings estimates and risky retention decisions.
3. EBS Snapshots Archive moves rarely accessed EBS snapshots to a lower-cost archive tier after converting the archived snapshot to a full snapshot. Snapshots Archive is intended for long-lived, rarely accessed snapshots and can reduce storage cost substantially when the minimum archive period is acceptable. That outcome matches long-lived EBS snapshot archive for this workload.
4. Disable Fast Snapshot Restore where immediate volume initialization is no longer required stops paying for Fast Snapshot Restore availability-zone acceleration while retaining the underlying snapshot. This case requires lower the price of a rarely restored snapshot that will remain retained well beyond 90 days. Disabling it sacrifices the specific immediate full-performance benefit that FSR provides to newly created volumes.

• < Amazon AWS SAA-C03 Data Ingestion, Streaming, Transfer, Transformation, Analytics, and Data Lakes Practice Test 3
• Amazon AWS SAA-C03 Cost-Optimized Storage, Tiering, Lifecycle, Backup, Archive, and Transfer Practice Test 2 >