Question 1
A financial services company is required by regulation to retain trade confirmation records for seven years. The records must be accessible within 48 hours of a request, but are rarely accessed after the first month. Which Amazon S3 storage class strategy provides the most cost-effective solution while meeting these compliance requirements?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
This is the most cost-effective strategy. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval is designed for long-term archival where data is infrequently accessed but needs to be retrieved within minutes to hours. This fits the 48-hour retrieval requirement perfectly while offering significant cost savings over S3 Standard. S3 Glacier Deep Archive has a longer retrieval time (typically 12+ hours), which might not meet the 48-hour window consistently for all retrieval types, and is designed for even less frequent access. S3 Standard is too expensive for long-term archival. Storing data directly in S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is more expensive than transitioning it after the initial high-access period.