Storage and Databases

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)

 

Object storage

In object storage, each object consists of data, metadata and a key. The data might be an image, video, text document, or any other type of file. Metadata contains information about what the data is, how it is used, the object size, and so on. An object’s key is its unique identifier. Unlike  modifying the data in a block storage, when an object storage is modified, the entire object is updated.

Amazon Simple Storage Service is a service that provides object-level storage. Amazon S3 stores data as objects in buckets. Any type of file can be uploaded to Amazon S3, such as images, videos, text files, and so on. For example, Amazon S3 can be used to store backup files, media files for a website, or archived documents. Amazon S3 offers unlimited storage space. The maximum file size for an object in Amazon S3 is 5 TB. When uploading a file to Amazon S3, the company can set permissions to control visibility and access to it. Company can also use the Amazon S3 versioning feature to track changes to its objects over time.

Amazon EC2 Storage Classes

With Amazon S3, company pays only for what it uses. There is a choice from a range of storage classes to select a fit for the business and cost needs. When selecting an Amazon S3 storage class, consider the following :

  • How often data retrieval is planned
  • How available data is needed to be

Amazon S3 storage classes are :

  • S3 Standard : designed for frequently accessed data and stores the data in a minimum of three availability zones. S3 provides high availability for objects. This makes it a good choice for a wide range of use cases, such as websites, content distribution, and data analytics. S3 standard has a higher cost than other storage classes intended for infrequently accessed data and archival storage
  • S3 Standard – Infrequent Access (S3 Standard – IA) : ideal for infrequently accessed data and is similar to S3 standard but has a lower storage price and higher retrieval price. S3 standard – IA requires high availability when needed. Both S3 standard and S3 standard – IA store data in a minimum of three availability zones. S3 standard – IA provides the same level of availability as S3 standard but with a lower storage price and higher retrieval price
  • S3 One Zone – Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone – IA) : stores data in a single availability zone and has a lower storage price than S3 Standard – IA. This makes it a good storage class to consider if the following conditions apply : company wants to save costs on storage and company can easily reproduce its data in the event of an availability zone failure
  • S3 Intelligent – Tiering : ideal for data with unknown or changing access patterns and requires a small monthly monitoring and automation fee per object. In the case of S3 Intelligent – Tiering, Amazon S3 monitors object’ access patterns. If an object hasn’t been accessed for 30 consecutive days, Amazon S3 automatically moves it to the infrequent access tier, S3 Standard-IA. If an object is accessed in the infrequent access tier, Amazon S3 automatically moves it to the frequent access tier, S3 Standard
  • S3 Glacier : low-cost storage designed for data archiving and able to retrieve objects within a few minutes to hours. S3 Glacier is a low-cost storage class that is ideal for data archiving. For example, company might use this storage class to store archived customer records or older photos and video files
  • S3 Glacier Deep Archive : lowest-cost object storage class ideal for archiving and able to retrieve objects within 12 hours. When deciding between Amazon S3 Glacier and Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive, consider how quickly you need to retrieve archived objects. You can retrieve objects stored in the S3 Glacier storage class within a few minutes to a few hours. By comparison, you can retrieve objects stored in the S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage class within 12 hours

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