AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate / Question #1298 of 1019

Question #1298

A healthcare organization's compliance policy mandates that their DynamoDB tables be backed up monthly. These backups must be immediately accessible for the first 6 months, then archived, and retained for a total of 7 years.

Which solution satisfies these requirements?

A

Create an AWS Backup plan to back up the DynamoDB table on the first day of each month. Configure a lifecycle policy to transition the backup to cold storage after 6 months. Set the retention period for each backup to 7 years.

B

Create a DynamoDB on-demand backup of the table monthly. Use Amazon S3 Lifecycle policies to transition the backup to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 6 months. Configure another S3 Lifecycle policy to delete backups after 7 years.

C

Develop a script using the AWS SDK to generate on-demand backups. Schedule it via Amazon EventBridge to run monthly. Create a second script to transition backups older than 6 months to cold storage and delete backups older than 7 years, triggered by another EventBridge rule.

D

Use the AWS CLI to create monthly on-demand backups via an Amazon EventBridge cron job. Include parameters in the CLI command to transition backups to cold storage after 6 months and delete them after 7 years.

Explanation

Answer A is correct because:
1. AWS Backup Integration: AWS Backup supports DynamoDB natively, allowing scheduled monthly backups via a backup plan.
2. Lifecycle Policies: AWS Backup enables transitioning backups to cold storage after 6 months, ensuring immediate accessibility for the first 6 months.
3. Retention Period: The 7-year retention requirement is met by setting the backup plan's retention period to 7 years.

Why other options are incorrect:
- B: DynamoDB backups are not stored in S3, so S3 lifecycle policies cannot manage them.
- C/D: Custom scripts and CLI solutions are error-prone and unnecessary when AWS Backup provides built-in lifecycle and retention management.

Key Points:
- Use AWS Backup for managed DynamoDB backups.
- Lifecycle policies handle transitions to cold storage.
- Retention periods ensure compliance with long-term archival requirements.

Answer

The correct answer is: A