Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumCost-Optimized Storage Tiering and Lifecycle Management

A health technology company runs genomic analysis workloads. The pipeline generates intermediate workspace files averaging 800 MB800\text{ MB} in size. These files are written to an Amazon S3 bucket and accessed frequently by compute nodes for the first 1010 days. Between day 1010 and day 2424, the files are rarely accessed but must remain available for immediate verification. On day 2424, the files are completely obsolete and must be permanently deleted. Which of the following is the most cost-effective storage strategy for these files?

  1. A
    Store the files in Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) from the beginning, and configure an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete the files after 2424 days.
  2. B
    Store the files in Amazon S3 Standard, transition them to Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) after 1010 days, and configure an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete the files after 2424 days.
  3. Store the files in Amazon S3 Standard, and configure an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete the files after 2424 days.Answer
  4. D
    Store the files in Amazon S3 Standard, transition them to Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 1010 days, and configure an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete the files after 2424 days.

Answer

Storing the files in Amazon S3 Standard for the entire duration and configuring an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete them after 24 days is the most cost-effective strategy.
Storing the files in Amazon S3 Standard for the entire 2424-day duration is the most cost-effective option. Because the total lifespan of the files is less than 3030 days, any transition to S3 Standard-IA (either from the beginning or after 1010 days) triggers early deletion charges for the minimum storage duration requirement. Keeping the files in S3 Standard avoids retrieval fees, transition fees, and early deletion penalties.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the access pattern and retention requirements of the data.
The files are accessed frequently for the first 1010 days, rarely accessed for 1414 days, and must be deleted on day 2424. The total lifespan of the files is 2424 days.
This establishes the timeline and access patterns needed to evaluate storage class constraints.
2
Evaluate the constraints of Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) and S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval.
S3 Standard-IA has a 3030-day minimum storage duration, and S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval has a 9090-day minimum storage duration. Deleting files before these thresholds results in early deletion fees.
Understanding minimum storage durations is critical to calculating the real cost of transitioning short-lived data.
3
Calculate and compare the cost of keeping data in S3 Standard versus transitioning to S3 Standard-IA.
Keeping the data in S3 Standard for 2424 days is cheaper because transitioning to S3 Standard-IA on day 1010 and deleting on day 2424 triggers a 1616-day early deletion penalty (charging for 3030 days of IA storage total). This penalty, combined with transition fees, offsets the lower storage rate of S3 Standard-IA.
Mathematical comparison confirms that avoiding early deletion charges and transition fees makes the S3 Standard lifecycle policy the optimal choice.

Key Concept

Identifying early deletion charges and minimum storage duration constraints when designing S3 lifecycle policies.
Rate this question

Topics

Cost-Optimized Storage Tiering and Lifecycle Management