Cloud Data Architecture and Tradeoffs Questions

Designing data architectures specifically for cloud environments and evaluating platform trade offs. Topics include when to use managed relational services, managed nonrelational services, cloud data warehouses, cloud object storage, lifecycle policies, cross region replication, data residency and compliance considerations, cost versus performance trade offs, managed service operational constraints, and strategies for high availability and disaster recovery in the cloud. Candidates should be able to compare cloud service options and justify choices based on reliability, cost, and compliance.

MediumTechnical

57 practiced

Provide five concrete cost optimization strategies for a cloud data warehouse with variable workloads, including reserved vs on-demand pricing, auto-suspend and auto-resume patterns, workload isolation, using object storage for cold data, and query optimization tactics.

HardTechnical

50 practiced

A security team reports suspected exfiltration of archived data from cold storage. As the Solutions Architect, outline an incident response plan that covers containment, forensic data collection, restore from safe backups, regulatory notifications, and changes to architecture to prevent recurrence.

EasyTechnical

60 practiced

Estimate a retention and archival strategy for logging data with these constraints: 10k events/sec peak, average event 1KB, 3 months hot access for analytics, 4 years cold retention for compliance, and strict cost limits. Explain storage choice and monthly cost drivers.

MediumTechnical

80 practiced

You must migrate a 10 TB on-prem data warehouse to the cloud with minimal downtime for daily reporting. Outline a migration strategy including discovery, schema conversion, data transfer, cutover plan, and reconciliation steps while ensuring compliance requirements are not violated.

HardTechnical

48 practiced

Design an auditable logging and access trail for data access and transformation pipelines that supports legal discovery and privacy reviews. Specify what to log, retention, indexing for search, access controls, and how to ensure logs themselves meet retention and privacy requirements.

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