What are the two methods for managing object retention with S3 Object Lock?

The two methods for managing object retention with S3 Object Lock are retention periods and legal holds.

Retention periods allow you to specify the duration for which an object remains protected from deletion or modification. During this time, the object is effectively "locked," ensuring that it cannot be altered or removed, which is critical for compliance and regulatory requirements. This feature is especially useful for organizations that need to maintain data integrity over specific time frames.

Legal holds, on the other hand, provide an additional layer of protection by preventing an object from being deleted or modified indefinitely until the hold is explicitly removed. This is often used in scenarios where legal or regulatory investigations are underway, ensuring that essential data is preserved regardless of the retention period settings.

Both of these methods are crucial for implementing effective data governance and compliance strategies within AWS S3, making them the correct response to the question. Other options, while related to data management in S3, do not pertain to the specific mechanisms of object retention used in S3 Object Lock.