Question #850
A healthcare provider is archiving patient medical records generated daily. The records are seldom accessed but must be retrievable within minutes when requested during the first 18 months. The records must be retained for 10 years to comply with regulations.
Which storage solution meets these requirements MOST cost-effectively?
Store the records in an Amazon S3 bucket using the S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval storage class. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to transition the records to the S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage class after 18 months.
Store the records in an Amazon S3 bucket using the S3 Standard storage class. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to transition the records to the S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval storage class after 18 months.
Store the records on an Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume. Use Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager (Amazon DLM) to create snapshots of the EBS volumes and store those snapshots in Amazon S3.
Store the records on an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) mount. Configure EFS lifecycle management to transition the records to the EFS Infrequent Access storage class after 18 months.
Explanation
The correct answer is A. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval provides millisecond retrieval times at a lower cost than S3 Standard, meeting the requirement for quick access during the first 18 months. After 18 months, transitioning to S3 Glacier Deep Archive (the cheapest storage class) ensures compliance with the 10-year retention requirement.
Option B is incorrect because S3 Standard is more expensive than Glacier Instant Retrieval for infrequently accessed data. Option C (EBS/DLM) and D (EFS) are unsuitable due to higher costs and complexity compared to S3 lifecycle policies. Key points: Use lifecycle policies to transition between storage classes based on access patterns; Glacier Instant Retrieval balances cost and retrieval speed, while Deep Archive minimizes long-term costs.
Answer
The correct answer is: A