Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)

In file storage multiple clients (such as users, applications, servers and so on) can access data that is stored in shared file folders. In this approach, a storage server uses block storage with a local file system to organize files. Clients access data through file paths.

Compared to block storage and object storage, file storage is ideal for use cases in which a large number of services and resources need to access the same data at the same time.

Amazon EFS is a scalable file system used with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. When files are removed or added, Amazon EFS grows and shrinks automatically. It can scale on demand to petabytes without disrupting applications.

Comparing Amazon EBS and Amazon EFS

An Amazon EBS volume stores data in a single availability zone. To attach an Amazon EC2 instance to an EBS volume, both the Amazon EC2 instance and the EBS volume must reside in the same availability zone.

Amazon EFS is a regional service. It stores data in and across multiple availability zones. The duplicate storage enables to access data concurrently from all the availability zones in the region where a file system is located. Additionally, on-premises servers can access Amazon EFS using AWS Direct Connect.

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)

In a relational database, data is stored in a way that relates it to other pieces of data. Relational databases use structured query language (SQL) to store and query data. This approach allows data to be stored in an easily understandable, consistent, and scalable way. For example, the coffee shop owners can write a SQL query to identify all the customers whose most frequently purchased drink is a medium latte.

Amazon RDS is a service that enables clients to run relational databases in the AWS Cloud. Amazon RDS is a managed service that automates tasks such as hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups. With these capabilities, you can spend less time completing administrative tasks and more time using data to innovate your applications. You can integrate Amazon RDS with other services to fulfill your business and operational needs, such as using AWS Lambda to query your database from a serverless application.

Amazon RDS provides a number of different security options. Many Amazon RDS database engines offer encryption at rest (protecting data while it is stored) and encryption in transit (protecting data while it is being sent and received).

Amazon RDS database engines