The storage system must balance cost, simplicity, and access patterns: high initial access, decreasing over time, with some files remaining popular. Google Cloud Storage offers tailored options for this:

Option A: Custom Object Lifecycle Management (OLM) policies (e.g., transition to Nearline after 30 days, Archive after 90 days) are effective but static. They don’t adapt to actual usage, so popular old files in Archive would incur high retrieval costs.

Option B: Autoclass automatically adjusts storage classes (Standard, Nearline, Coldline, Archive) based on object access patterns, not just age. It keeps frequently accessed files in Standard (low latency/cost for access) and moves inactive ones to cheaper classes, minimizing costs while preserving simplicity. This fits the “some files remain popular” nuance.

Option C: A Cloud Scheduler job to manually change classes daily is complex (requires scripting, monitoring), error-prone, and less cost-effective than automated solutions like Autoclass or OLM.