Amazon AWS SAA-C03 Cost-Optimized Storage, Tiering, Lifecycle, Backup, Archive, and Transfer Practice Test 2

 

Topic 17 Practice Test 2 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 team deletes an old EBS snapshot and is surprised that the billed snapshot data barely changes. Newer snapshots of the same volume still exist. What concept should guide the next cost analysis? Choose ONE.

1. EBS Snapshots Archive
2. Delete unused EBS volumes after taking any required final snapshot
3. Account for EBS snapshot incremental block references before deleting snapshots
4. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

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 understand why deleting an older incremental snapshot may not free blocks referenced by later snapshots. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
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 understand why deleting an older incremental snapshot may not free blocks referenced by later snapshots. Keeping the detached volume continues charging for provisioned storage even though no instance consumes it.
3. Account for EBS snapshot incremental block references before deleting snapshots recognizes that deleting one snapshot removes only blocks that no later snapshot still references. EBS snapshots are incremental and shared blocks remain stored while a later snapshot still references them, so apparent snapshot age alone is not a savings estimate. That outcome matches incremental snapshot lineage for this workload.
4. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots automates creation, retention, and expiration schedules for EBS snapshots and AMI-backed policies. This case requires understand why deleting an older incremental snapshot may not free blocks referenced by later snapshots. It is focused on EC2/EBS lifecycle automation rather than general S3 object-class transitions or cross-service backup policy.

 

Question 2

Fast Snapshot Restore was enabled in three Availability Zones for a one-day fleet launch. The launch is finished, and new volumes no longer require immediate full-performance initialization. What should be done to remove the avoidable recurring feature charge? Choose ONE.

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

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. 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. Disabling FSR removes the zone-specific acceleration cost and leaves the snapshot itself available for ordinary volume creation. That outcome matches retired FSR acceleration for this workload.
2. 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 stop paying for snapshot acceleration that is no longer required while keeping the snapshot. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
3. 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 stop paying for snapshot acceleration that is no longer required while keeping the snapshot. Keeping the detached volume continues charging for provisioned storage even though no instance consumes it.
4. 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 snapshot acceleration that is no longer required while keeping the snapshot. It is focused on EC2/EBS lifecycle automation rather than general S3 object-class transitions or cross-service backup policy.

 

Question 3

An operations team takes EBS snapshots manually every night and rarely remembers to delete them. Policy requires daily recovery points for 30 days and monthly points for one year. Which AWS feature best automates the snapshot schedule and retention? Choose ONE.

1. EBS Snapshots Archive
2. S3 Lifecycle expiration
3. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration
4. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots

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 automate EBS snapshot creation and expiration according to repeatable retention schedules. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
2. S3 Lifecycle expiration enforces time-based deletion of current S3 objects without a separate cleanup application. Current-object expiration leaves other storage categories, such as noncurrent versions and abandoned upload parts, untouched. Because the scenario must automate EBS snapshot creation and expiration according to repeatable retention schedules, this option misses automated EBS snapshot retention.
3. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration automatically deletes recovery points after the approved retention period instead of keeping them indefinitely. This case requires automate EBS snapshot creation and expiration according to repeatable retention schedules. Shortening retention without governance approval can remove required restore points even though it reduces storage cost.
4. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots automates creation, retention, and expiration schedules for EBS snapshots and AMI-backed policies. The requirement is to automate EBS snapshot creation and expiration according to repeatable retention schedules. Data Lifecycle Manager is purpose-built to manage EBS snapshot lifecycle policies, removing manual creation and cleanup drift.

 

Question 4

A regional EFS file system holds 40 TB of engineering files. About 85% of file content has not been opened for more than 60 days, but it must remain in the same shared namespace. Which change best lowers storage cost? Choose ONE.

1. EFS One Zone storage
2. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access
3. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access
4. EBS st1 Throughput Optimized HDD

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. EFS One Zone storage keeps EFS file-system data in one Availability Zone at a lower storage price than regional EFS. This case requires keep the shared EFS namespace while automatically lowering the price of cold file content. It does not provide the multi-AZ durability of Regional EFS, so irreplaceable shared data needs a regional design.
2. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access moves file contents that have not been accessed for the configured period from Standard into lower-cost EFS IA storage. EFS lifecycle management can move inactive file contents into IA without changing the file-system interface used by applications. That outcome matches cold EFS tiering for this workload.
3. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access moves a file from IA or Archive back to Standard when it is read so subsequent hot accesses avoid repeated lower-tier access charges. This case requires keep the shared EFS namespace while automatically lowering the price of cold file content. Moving files back adds Standard storage cost and is unnecessary when accesses remain isolated and rare.
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 keep the shared EFS namespace while automatically lowering the price of cold file content. It performs poorly for small random I/O and cannot be used as a boot volume.

 

Question 5

A large EFS archive contains project files that are accessed only a few times per year. The file system already uses compatible modes, and the business can tolerate lower-tier access economics. Which lifecycle design is most cost optimized? Choose ONE.

1. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access
2. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive
3. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access
4. EFS One Zone storage

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access moves a file from IA or Archive back to Standard when it is read so subsequent hot accesses avoid repeated lower-tier access charges. This case requires tier very cold shared-file content beyond IA into EFS Archive after longer inactivity. Moving files back adds Standard storage cost and is unnecessary when accesses remain isolated and rare.
2. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive tiers cold file contents first to IA and later to the lower-cost EFS Archive class after longer inactivity. The IA-then-Archive lifecycle matches the progressively colder access pattern and preserves the same EFS namespace while reducing capacity cost. That outcome matches deep EFS lifecycle tiering for this workload.
3. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access moves file contents that have not been accessed for the configured period from Standard into lower-cost EFS IA storage. This case requires tier very cold shared-file content beyond IA into EFS Archive after longer inactivity. IA access has per-operation/data-access economics, so continuously hot files belong in Standard.
4. EFS One Zone storage keeps EFS file-system data in one Availability Zone at a lower storage price than regional EFS. This case requires tier very cold shared-file content beyond IA into EFS Archive after longer inactivity. It does not provide the multi-AZ durability of Regional EFS, so irreplaceable shared data needs a regional design.

 

Question 6

An EFS dataset is cold for months, but when a quarterly model build starts, the same files are read repeatedly for several weeks. Which lifecycle option can reduce repeated IA or Archive access charges during each hot phase? Choose ONE.

1. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access
2. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive
3. EFS One Zone storage
4. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access moves file contents that have not been accessed for the configured period from Standard into lower-cost EFS IA storage. This case requires promote a cold file back to Standard when its first read signals a sustained hot period. IA access has per-operation/data-access economics, so continuously hot files belong in Standard.
2. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive tiers cold file contents first to IA and later to the lower-cost EFS Archive class after longer inactivity. This case requires promote a cold file back to Standard when its first read signals a sustained hot period. Archive requires compatible EFS performance and throughput modes and is unsuitable for hot latency-sensitive file content.
3. EFS One Zone storage keeps EFS file-system data in one Availability Zone at a lower storage price than regional EFS. This case requires promote a cold file back to Standard when its first read signals a sustained hot period. It does not provide the multi-AZ durability of Regional EFS, so irreplaceable shared data needs a regional design.
4. EFS lifecycle transition back to Standard on first access moves a file from IA or Archive back to Standard when it is read so subsequent hot accesses avoid repeated lower-tier access charges. Transition-on-first-access moves the file back to Standard so repeated reads during the active phase avoid lower-tier access charges. That outcome matches EFS rewarming for this workload.

 

Question 7

A development build farm needs a shared POSIX file system, but all artifacts can be regenerated from source control and the farm already operates in one Availability Zone. Which EFS choice can lower storage cost if the team accepts single-AZ data resilience? Choose ONE.

1. EFS One Zone storage
2. Regional EFS with lifecycle management
3. S3 One Zone-IA
4. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. EFS One Zone storage keeps EFS file-system data in one Availability Zone at a lower storage price than regional EFS. EFS One Zone preserves the EFS file interface while trading regional data resilience for a lower storage price, matching the recreatable build artifacts. That outcome matches single-AZ shared file storage for this workload.
2. Regional EFS with lifecycle management combines multi-AZ EFS resilience with automated movement of cold file contents into IA or Archive classes. This case requires lower EFS storage cost for recreatable shared files when single-AZ durability is acceptable. A One Zone alternative is cheaper only when losing the selected Availability Zone is an acceptable data-risk tradeoff.
3. 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 lower EFS storage cost for recreatable shared files when single-AZ durability is acceptable. Loss of that selected Availability Zone can make the data unavailable, so irreplaceable data needing regional resilience belongs elsewhere.
4. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access moves file contents that have not been accessed for the configured period from Standard into lower-cost EFS IA storage. This case requires lower EFS storage cost for recreatable shared files when single-AZ durability is acceptable. IA access has per-operation/data-access economics, so continuously hot files belong in Standard.

 

Question 8

A business-critical shared file system must survive the loss of an Availability Zone. Most files become cold after a month, but the namespace must stay mounted by applications. Which design best balances durability and cost? Choose ONE.

1. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive
2. EFS One Zone storage
3. Regional EFS with lifecycle management
4. S3 Standard-IA

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. EFS lifecycle management to IA and then Archive tiers cold file contents first to IA and later to the lower-cost EFS Archive class after longer inactivity. This case requires retain regional EFS durability while automatically tiering inactive file content. Archive requires compatible EFS performance and throughput modes and is unsuitable for hot latency-sensitive file content.
2. EFS One Zone storage keeps EFS file-system data in one Availability Zone at a lower storage price than regional EFS. This case requires retain regional EFS durability while automatically tiering inactive file content. It does not provide the multi-AZ durability of Regional EFS, so irreplaceable shared data needs a regional design.
3. Regional EFS with lifecycle management combines multi-AZ EFS resilience with automated movement of cold file contents into IA or Archive classes. Regional EFS preserves multi-AZ resilience, and lifecycle management lowers the cost of the cold majority without changing application mount semantics. That outcome matches durable tiered EFS for this workload.
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 retain regional EFS durability while automatically tiering inactive file content, this option misses durable tiered EFS.

 

Question 9

A supported AWS Backup workload keeps monthly recovery points for seven years. Restores from copies older than 90 days are extremely rare. Which backup-plan setting should be evaluated to reduce long-term storage cost? Choose ONE.

1. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration
2. S3 Glacier Deep Archive
3. EBS Snapshots Archive
4. AWS Backup lifecycle transition to cold storage for supported resources

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration automatically deletes recovery points after the approved retention period instead of keeping them indefinitely. This case requires move eligible long-retention recovery points from warm into lower-cost backup cold storage. Shortening retention without governance approval can remove required restore points even though it reduces storage cost.
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 move eligible long-retention recovery points from warm into lower-cost backup cold storage. The 180-day minimum duration and long restore window make it unsuitable for shorter retention or rapid operational recovery.
3. 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 move eligible long-retention recovery points from warm into lower-cost backup cold storage. Early permanent restore or deletion can trigger minimum-duration charges, and archive is poor for frequently restored snapshots.
4. AWS Backup lifecycle transition to cold storage for supported resources moves eligible recovery points from warm to lower-cost cold storage while enforcing the cold-tier minimum-retention rules. AWS Backup lifecycle can transition supported recovery points to cold storage, provided the minimum cold-retention relationship is respected. That outcome matches backup cold lifecycle for this workload.

 

Question 10

A test account keeps AWS Backup recovery points indefinitely even though policy requires only 35 days of recovery history. Which change most directly stops paying for obsolete recovery points? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Lifecycle expiration
2. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration
3. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots
4. AWS Backup lifecycle transition to cold storage for supported resources

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 delete backup recovery points automatically after the approved finite recovery window. It does not automatically purge previous versions or unfinished multipart parts. That limitation conflicts with backup retention expiry.
2. AWS Backup lifecycle expiration automatically deletes recovery points after the approved retention period instead of keeping them indefinitely. The requirement is to delete backup recovery points automatically after the approved finite recovery window. Setting backup lifecycle expiration to the policy limit removes recovery points once they have no remaining recovery or compliance value.
3. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager for EBS snapshots automates creation, retention, and expiration schedules for EBS snapshots and AMI-backed policies. This case requires delete backup recovery points automatically after the approved finite recovery window. It is focused on EC2/EBS lifecycle automation rather than general S3 object-class transitions or cross-service backup policy.
4. AWS Backup lifecycle transition to cold storage for supported resources moves eligible recovery points from warm to lower-cost cold storage while enforcing the cold-tier minimum-retention rules. This case requires delete backup recovery points automatically after the approved finite recovery window. Not every protected resource supports cold transition, and the delete date must be at least 90 days after transition.

 

Question 11

A versioned S3 bucket expires current log objects after 90 days, but storage keeps growing because thousands of older versions remain. Which additional lifecycle action directly addresses the remaining cost? Choose ONE.

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

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 permanently remove superseded versions after their separate rollback window, this option misses versioned bucket growth.
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. It does not replace noncurrent-version expiration while older versions still exist. Because the scenario must permanently remove superseded versions after their separate rollback window, this option misses versioned bucket growth.
3. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration permanently removes older object versions after they have remained noncurrent for the configured period. The scenario requires permanently remove superseded versions after their separate rollback window. Current-version expiration does not purge noncurrent versions; a noncurrent-version rule is required to bound that hidden version-history storage. This directly resolves versioned bucket growth.
4. S3 Lifecycle expiration enforces time-based deletion of current S3 objects without a separate cleanup application. The scenario instead requires permanently remove superseded versions after their separate rollback window. Current-object expiration leaves other storage categories, such as noncurrent versions and abandoned upload parts, untouched. That limitation conflicts with versioned bucket growth.

 

Question 12

A versioned bucket has already expired all noncurrent versions. Millions of orphaned delete markers remain and provide no recovery value. Which lifecycle cleanup is appropriate? Choose ONE.

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

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. S3 Lifecycle removal of expired object delete markers cleans delete markers that no longer have any noncurrent versions behind them in a versioned bucket. The expired-object-delete-marker action cleans these markers after historical versions are gone, reducing namespace clutter without deleting live object data. That outcome matches orphaned delete-marker cleanup for this workload.
2. S3 Lifecycle expiration removes current objects automatically after the age defined by a lifecycle rule. The scenario instead requires remove delete markers that no longer protect any historical object version. It does not automatically purge previous versions or unfinished multipart parts. That limitation conflicts with orphaned delete-marker cleanup.
3. 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 remove delete markers that no longer protect any historical object version, this option misses orphaned delete-marker cleanup.
4. S3 Lifecycle noncurrent-version expiration permanently removes older object versions after they have remained noncurrent for the configured period. This case requires remove delete markers that no longer protect any historical object version. It targets noncurrent versions rather than the live current version, so it does not implement ordinary current-object retention.

 

Question 13

An on-premises file share uses S3 File Gateway. Writing files directly into Standard-IA causes early-deletion charges because users frequently rename or update file metadata during the first two weeks. Which design is better? Choose ONE.

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering
2. S3 Standard-IA
3. S3 One Zone-IA
4. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering presents an on-premises file interface with local caching while S3 stores durable objects that can later be lifecycle-tiered. Writing to S3 Standard first and transitioning with Lifecycle lets short-lived file changes settle before objects enter an infrequent-access class. That outcome matches File Gateway lifecycle staging for this workload.
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 avoid early-deletion penalties while still tiering stable gateway-backed objects later. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
3. 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 avoid early-deletion penalties while still tiering stable gateway-backed objects later. Loss of that selected Availability Zone can make the data unavailable, so irreplaceable data needing regional resilience belongs elsewhere.
4. EFS lifecycle management to Infrequent Access moves file contents that have not been accessed for the configured period from Standard into lower-cost EFS IA storage. This case requires avoid early-deletion penalties while still tiering stable gateway-backed objects later. IA access has per-operation/data-access economics, so continuously hot files belong in Standard.

 

Question 14

A branch office needs SMB-style access to files locally, while durable copies should live in S3 and older objects should eventually move to lower-cost S3 classes. Which architecture fits? Choose ONE.

1. AWS DataSync
2. S3 Transfer Acceleration
3. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering
4. Regional EFS with lifecycle management

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

Rationale

1. AWS DataSync provides managed online transfer with parallelism, verification, scheduling, and incremental copying between supported storage locations. This case requires provide cached on-premises file access backed by S3 and apply S3 lifecycle economics over time. It still depends on available network bandwidth, so it cannot make an offline transfer window disappear when the WAN is inadequate.
2. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses the AWS edge network to accelerate long-distance internet transfers into or out of an enabled S3 bucket. This case requires provide cached on-premises file access backed by S3 and apply S3 lifecycle economics over time. It adds transfer-acceleration charges and provides little value for nearby clients or traffic already using suitable private connectivity.
3. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering presents an on-premises file interface with local caching while S3 stores durable objects that can later be lifecycle-tiered. S3 File Gateway supplies the local file protocol and cache, while S3 Lifecycle handles later storage-class transitions for the durable objects. That outcome matches hybrid cached file archive for this workload.
4. Regional EFS with lifecycle management combines multi-AZ EFS resilience with automated movement of cold file contents into IA or Archive classes. This case requires provide cached on-premises file access backed by S3 and apply S3 lifecycle economics over time. A One Zone alternative is cheaper only when losing the selected Availability Zone is an acceptable data-risk tradeoff.

 

Question 15

A company must migrate 70 TB from on-premises NFS storage to S3 over an existing 10-Gbps Direct Connect link. It wants managed parallel transfer, integrity verification, and scheduling rather than custom copy scripts. Which service is the best fit? Choose ONE.

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering
2. AWS DataSync
3. S3 Inventory
4. S3 Transfer Acceleration

Correct Answer(s)

 

B

Rationale

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering presents an on-premises file interface with local caching while S3 stores durable objects that can later be lifecycle-tiered. This case requires perform a managed online file migration over available network connectivity with verification. Writing directly to an infrequent-access class can create early-deletion charges when file metadata or contents change soon after creation.
2. AWS DataSync provides managed online transfer with parallelism, verification, scheduling, and incremental copying between supported storage locations. The requirement is to perform a managed online file migration over available network connectivity with verification. DataSync is built for managed online movement from NFS or SMB into AWS storage and supplies parallel transfer, scheduling, and validation features.
3. 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 perform a managed online file migration over available network connectivity with verification, this option misses managed online storage migration.
4. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses the AWS edge network to accelerate long-distance internet transfers into or out of an enabled S3 bucket. This case requires perform a managed online file migration over available network connectivity with verification. It adds transfer-acceleration charges and provides little value for nearby clients or traffic already using suitable private connectivity.

 

Question 16

A render farm exports 5 TB of new files to S3 every night. Most files are unchanged on later runs, and the team wants a managed recurring job that transfers only what must be synchronized. Which service should it use? Choose ONE.

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering
2. S3 Transfer Acceleration
3. S3 Inventory
4. AWS DataSync

Correct Answer(s)

 

D

Rationale

1. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering presents an on-premises file interface with local caching while S3 stores durable objects that can later be lifecycle-tiered. This case requires run recurring incremental synchronization from on-premises storage to S3 without custom orchestration. Writing directly to an infrequent-access class can create early-deletion charges when file metadata or contents change soon after creation.
2. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses the AWS edge network to accelerate long-distance internet transfers into or out of an enabled S3 bucket. This case requires run recurring incremental synchronization from on-premises storage to S3 without custom orchestration. It adds transfer-acceleration charges and provides little value for nearby clients or traffic already using suitable private connectivity.
3. 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 run recurring incremental synchronization from on-premises storage to S3 without custom orchestration, this option misses recurring incremental transfer.
4. AWS DataSync provides managed online transfer with parallelism, verification, scheduling, and incremental copying between supported storage locations. The requirement is to run recurring incremental synchronization from on-premises storage to S3 without custom orchestration. DataSync can schedule repeat transfers and compare source and destination metadata so recurring jobs focus on changed content.

 

Question 17

Customers in South America and Asia upload multi-gigabyte media files over the public internet to an S3 bucket in Europe. Tests show long-distance internet paths are the bottleneck, and the business accepts an added acceleration charge for faster uploads. Which feature should be evaluated? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Standard-IA
2. AWS DataSync
3. S3 Transfer Acceleration
4. S3 Storage Lens cost-optimization metrics

Correct Answer(s)

 

C

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 improve repeated long-distance internet transfers to S3 by using AWS edge ingress. Data that is deleted early or read often can lose the expected savings because minimum-duration and access charges still apply.
2. AWS DataSync provides managed online transfer with parallelism, verification, scheduling, and incremental copying between supported storage locations. This case requires improve repeated long-distance internet transfers to S3 by using AWS edge ingress. It still depends on available network bandwidth, so it cannot make an offline transfer window disappear when the WAN is inadequate.
3. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses the AWS edge network to accelerate long-distance internet transfers into or out of an enabled S3 bucket. Transfer Acceleration routes uploads through nearby AWS edge locations and the AWS network, directly addressing geographically distant internet clients. That outcome matches accelerated global S3 ingress for this workload.
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 improve repeated long-distance internet transfers to S3 by using AWS edge ingress. It identifies optimization opportunities but does not itself transition or delete data.

 

Question 18

A data center has a 20-Gbps Direct Connect connection and must move 500 TB of NFS data to S3 while applications remain online. The team wants parallel transfer and verification, and the network can meet the migration window. Which choice is most appropriate? Choose ONE.

1. AWS DataSync
2. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering
3. S3 Transfer Acceleration
4. S3 Glacier Deep Archive

Correct Answer(s)

 

A

Rationale

1. AWS DataSync provides managed online transfer with parallelism, verification, scheduling, and incremental copying between supported storage locations. The requirement is to use the available high-bandwidth private path for managed online migration while source systems stay active. DataSync is suited to large online migrations when adequate network bandwidth exists and it adds managed concurrency plus transfer verification.
2. S3 File Gateway writing to S3 Standard with S3 Lifecycle tiering presents an on-premises file interface with local caching while S3 stores durable objects that can later be lifecycle-tiered. This case requires use the available high-bandwidth private path for managed online migration while source systems stay active. Writing directly to an infrequent-access class can create early-deletion charges when file metadata or contents change soon after creation.
3. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses the AWS edge network to accelerate long-distance internet transfers into or out of an enabled S3 bucket. This case requires use the available high-bandwidth private path for managed online migration while source systems stay active. It adds transfer-acceleration charges and provides little value for nearby clients or traffic already using suitable private connectivity.
4. 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 use the available high-bandwidth private path for managed online migration while source systems stay active. The 180-day minimum duration and long restore window make it unsuitable for shorter retention or rapid operational recovery.

 

Question 19

An archive contains billions of 8 KB immutable telemetry files that are always consumed by day as one batch. Transition and archive metadata charges per object dominate the bill. Which redesign is most likely to improve cost? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
2. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
3. Use an S3 Lifecycle object-size filter for small-object transitions
4. Aggregate small records into larger S3 objects

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 reduce per-object overhead when tiny records are naturally accessed together. Objects expected to disappear quickly or be read often do not fit its archive-duration and access-cost model.
2. 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 per-object overhead when tiny records are naturally accessed together. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
3. Use an S3 Lifecycle object-size filter for small-object transitions overrides the default 128 KB minimum transition behavior when a deliberate economic analysis justifies transitioning smaller objects. This case requires reduce per-object overhead when tiny records are naturally accessed together. Forcing tiny objects into colder classes can cost more than leaving them in Standard because request and metadata charges are per object.
4. 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. Bundling many tiny immutable records into larger day-level objects reduces object count, requests, and archive metadata overhead while matching the batch access pattern. That outcome matches tiny archive object consolidation for this workload.

 

Question 20

A team moves 500 MB artifacts into Standard-IA after one day, but most artifacts are deleted by the CI system after 12 days. Which lifecycle change is most cost-conscious? Choose ONE.

1. S3 Intelligent-Tiering
2. Delay the S3 Lifecycle transition until objects are unlikely to change or be deleted
3. S3 Standard-IA
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

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 avoid transitioning objects into a 30-day-minimum class before the common deletion window has passed. It is less attractive for many sub-128 KB objects because those objects are not automatically tiered by the class.
2. Delay the S3 Lifecycle transition until objects are unlikely to change or be deleted keeps young objects in Standard until they have survived the churn window, avoiding premature minimum-duration and transition costs. Keeping young artifacts in Standard until their churn period ends avoids transition and early-deletion economics on objects that rarely survive long enough to benefit. That outcome matches delay premature IA transition for this workload.
3. S3 Standard-IA keeps infrequently accessed objects across several Availability Zones while retaining millisecond reads and charging for retrievals. This case requires avoid transitioning objects into a 30-day-minimum class before the common deletion window has passed. Its 30-day minimum and retrieval charges weaken the economics for short-lived or frequently read objects.
4. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval places archive data in a lower-cost class while still providing millisecond retrieval for each object. This case requires avoid transitioning objects into a 30-day-minimum class before the common deletion window has passed. Its 90-day minimum and retrieval pricing are a poor match for short retention or frequent reads.

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