If you’re preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam, mastering how to design cost-effective long-term storage solutions is essential.
This guide uses a real-world scenario, a medical research archive with audit readiness, to walk through.
Architecting S3 Glacier for compliance and retrieval SLAs.
Automating cost savings with S3 Lifecycle Policies.
Avoiding Deep Archive pitfalls when fast retrieval is required.
Understanding exam-relevant storage class differences.
Use Case: Medical Research Archive with Audit Readiness
A medical research institute stores genomic sequencing data and imaging files related to longitudinal clinical studies.
The data must be retained for at least 10 years to support research reproducibility, regulatory compliance, and potential audits.
These files are rarely accessed after the first few months but must be retrieved within 2 hours when requested by regulators, collaborators, or peer reviewers.
The institute wants to minimize storage costs while maintaining audit-readiness and compliance.
Storage Design Strategy: Cost-Effective Archival with Compliance in Mind
To balance cost, compliance, and retrieval SLAs, use Amazon S3 with Lifecycle Policies:
Initial Storage: Store new data in S3 Standard for the first 30–60 days to support active usage.
Automated Transition: Use S3 Lifecycle rules to automatically transition the data to Amazon S3 Glacier for long-term archival.
Retrieval SLA Compliance: Choose the Standard retrieval tier (3–5 hours) or configure Expedited retrieval (1–5 minutes) to meet the ≤ 2-hour SLA.
Avoid S3 Glacier Deep Archive: While cheaper, its 12+ hour retrieval time is too slow for audit-readiness or time-sensitive access.
Why Amazon S3 Glacier is the Most Cost-Effective Solution
Built for long-term archival
Low storage cost vs. S3 Standard or Standard-IA
Supports both:
Standard retrieval: 3–5 hours (default)
Expedited retrieval: 1–5 minutes (higher cost, faster SLA)
Meets the durability and compliance needs of regulated industries like healthcare and finance
Can be automated with Lifecycle rules for hands-free cost optimization
AWS S3 + Glacier + Lifecycle Rules Cheat Sheet
S3 Storage Classes Overview
Storage Class | Use Case | Retrieval Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
S3 Standard | Frequently accessed data | Milliseconds | 💰💰💰 |
S3 Standard-IA | Infrequent access | Milliseconds | 💰💰 |
S3 One Zone-IA | Infrequent access, 1 AZ only | Milliseconds | 💰 |
S3 Glacier | Archival (cold data) | Expedited (1–5 min) / Standard (3–5 hrs) | 💰 |
S3 Glacier Deep Archive | Lowest-cost archival | Standard (12 hrs) | 💰🪙 (cheapest) |
S3 Glacier Retrieval Tiers
Tier | Retrieval Time | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
Expedited | 1–5 minutes | Emergency access |
Standard | 3–5 hours | Most archival access needs |
Bulk | 5–12 hours | Very large, non-urgent batch jobs |
S3 Lifecycle Rules
Use Lifecycle rules to automatically transition or expire objects based on age.
Common Lifecycle Transitions
Action | Example Rule |
|---|---|
Transition to Standard-IA | After 30 days |
Transition to S3 Glacier | After 60–90 days |
Transition to Glacier Deep Archive | After 180+ days (if 12+ hr retrieval OK) |
Expire/Delete after N days | After the compliance period ends (e.g., 5 yrs) |
Compliance Tip
Use Object Lock with Lifecycle Expiration to enforce immutable (cannot be altered or deleted once written) retention policies automatically — no manual deletions required.
Exam Insights
AWS will often test your ability to design storage solutions that balance:
Cost
Retrieval time
Compliance and durability
Exam Tips
The most cost-effective solution is one that meets the retrieval SLA and keeps costs low.
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost, but the retrieval time (typically 12 hours) makes it unsuitable when fast access is needed.
Lifecycle rules automate storage transitions and lower cost over time.
Understand the difference between Glacier retrieval tiers
Expedited: 1–5 min
Standard: 3–5 hrs
Bulk: 5–12 hrs
Ready to take your AWS Solutions Architect – Associate prep to the next level?
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