A media company stores raw video footage whose retrieval frequency is unpredictable, sometimes daily and sometimes not for months. The team does not want to write lifecycle rules or monitor access patterns. Which S3 option best fits?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
S3 Intelligent-Tiering monitors each object's access pattern and moves it between access tiers automatically, with no retrieval charges and no lifecycle policy to maintain. This suits unpredictable access. Objects under 128 KB are not monitored and stay billed at the frequent access rate, and a small per-object monitoring and automation fee applies. Deep Archive has long retrieval times, One Zone-IA stores data in a single Availability Zone, and a fixed transition to Glacier misfits footage that may be needed again sooner.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Deep Archive has retrieval times measured in hours and is priced for data that is almost never read. Footage requested unpredictably would incur slow, costly restores, so it fits poorly.
- B. One Zone-IA keeps data in a single Availability Zone at a lower price and charges retrieval fees. It sacrifices resilience and still requires access-tier judgment that the team wants to avoid.
- D. A fixed transition to Glacier after 90 days ignores footage that gets requested later, and it requires the team to manage lifecycle rules. The stated preference rules out a hand-tuned policy.