Cloud Technology and Services A free question from our original CLF-C02 practice exam. Try it, then open the answer to see why each option is right or wrong.
A law firm must keep scanned client files for ten years.
Files are opened often in their first month, rarely after that, and almost never after one year, when a wait of several hours to retrieve one is acceptable.
What should the firm do to lower storage costs with the least ongoing effort?
Choose one answer.
AA. Keep every file in S3 Standard for ten years, so access stays fast
BB. S3 Lifecycle rules: Standard-IA after 30 days, Glacier Deep Archive after one year
CC. Copy the files to Amazon EBS volumes attached to an EC2 instance
DD. Store all files in S3 One Zone-IA from the day they are uploaded
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B
A. Wrong: S3 Standard gives fast access but costs more per GB than colder storage classes. Keeping rarely opened files there for ten years wastes money.
B. Right: Lifecycle rules move files to cheaper classes automatically, with no manual work. Standard-IA suits files opened less often after the first month, and Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost class, with standard retrieval typically within 12 hours. Learn more: Storage classes for Amazon S3 (opens in a new tab)
C. Wrong: EBS volumes are block storage attached to a server, so the firm would need to run and manage that server. This adds ongoing effort rather than reducing it.
D. Wrong: Each retrieval from One Zone-IA carries a per-GB fee, and the frequent early access in the first month would add many of these charges.
Explanation
Lifecycle rules let the firm move files to cheaper classes at the right times with no manual work. Standard-IA fits the drop-off in access after the first month, and Glacier Deep Archive fits files retrieved rarely, when a wait of hours is acceptable. Keeping everything in Standard or using One Zone-IA from day one both ignore the access pattern.
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