Automated RDS Backup and Retention Policy

Answer: B.

Option A is incorrect because the automated RDS backup retention period has a maximum configurable value of 35 days.

Option B is CORRECT because to retain backups longer than 35 days, RDS snapshots must be used.

Lambda function can be implemented to initiate the RDS snapshot.

The Lambda function can be triggered on a schedule using CloudWatch Events Rule.

Option C is incorrect because RDS does not offer the capability to copy automated backups.

Option D is incorrect because RDS backup does not have lifecycle policy functionality.

Reference:

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_WorkingWithAutomatedBackups.html https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_CreateSnapshot.html

The optimal solution to meet the requirement of automatically backing up RDS data on a specified schedule and storing it for 90 days is to enable automated backups on RDS and configure the backup retention period to 90 days. Therefore, the correct answer is option A.

Here's why:

Option A: Enable automated backups on RDS.Configure backup retention period to 90 days.

Amazon RDS provides automatic backup functionality for database instances. With automatic backups, Amazon RDS takes backups of the database instance and transaction logs at a user-defined interval. You can define the backup retention period, which specifies how long RDS keeps the automated backups. The retention period can be set between 1 and 35 days, or up to 10% of the data stored in the instance, whichever is greater.

In this scenario, the regulatory compliance policy requires that backups are stored for 90 days. Therefore, you can enable automated backups on RDS and configure the backup retention period to 90 days, which meets the compliance requirement.

Option B: Implement a Lambda function to create an RDS DB snapshot. Create CloudWatch Events Rule to trigger the Lambda function according to the required schedule.

This option involves creating a Lambda function to create a DB snapshot of the RDS instance and configuring a CloudWatch Events Rule to trigger the Lambda function on a schedule. While this option can achieve the backup requirement, it may not be the optimal solution because it requires more setup and maintenance compared to using the built-in automated backup functionality of RDS.

Option C: Implement a Step Function to copy the RDS backup to an S3 bucket.Configure Start condition of the Step Function to execute according to the required schedule.

This option involves using AWS Step Functions to copy the RDS backup to an S3 bucket and configuring the start condition of the Step Function to execute according to the required schedule. While this option can achieve the backup requirement and provide additional benefits such as backup storage in S3, it also requires more setup and maintenance compared to using the built-in automated backup functionality of RDS.

Option D: Configure RDS backup lifecycle policy to archive data in S3 Glacier.

This option involves configuring an RDS backup lifecycle policy to archive data in S3 Glacier, which is a low-cost storage option for data archiving. While this option can achieve the backup requirement and provide additional benefits such as cost savings for long-term storage, it does not meet the requirement of storing backups for 90 days. S3 Glacier has a minimum storage duration of 90 days, which means that the backups cannot be deleted before that period.

In summary, the optimal solution to meet the regulatory compliance policy requirement of automatically backing up RDS data on a specified schedule and storing it for 90 days is to enable automated backups on RDS and configure the backup retention period to 90 days.