AWS Storage Account
- Globally unique name (S3 bucket names are globally unique across all AWS accounts)
Overview
Supports:
- Object (S3)
- File (EFS / FSx)
- Queue (SQS)
- NoSQL (DynamoDB)
- Block (EBS)
Storage Services and Use Cases
-
Object Storage (Amazon S3): Unstructured data, analytics data lakes, media, backups, static websites.
- Standard Object ==> Images, videos, static websites, general files
- S3 + Kinesis Firehose ==> Log streaming & append-only patterns
- EBS Volume / Snapshot ==> VM disks (block access, random read/write)
-
File Storage (Amazon EFS / FSx): EFS for Linux NFS shares; FSx for Windows SMB shares, FSLogix profiles, lift-and-shift.
-
Queue Storage (Amazon SQS): Decoupling services, reliable messaging, task scheduling.
- Standard Queue ==> Best-effort ordering, maximum throughput
- FIFO Queue ==> Strict ordering, exactly-once delivery
-
NoSQL Storage (Amazon DynamoDB): Key-value and document store for simple, large-scale datasets with millisecond latency.
-
Block Storage (Amazon EBS): Managed OS/data disks for EC2 VMs, high IOPS/low latency. EC2-only attachment.
AWS Storage Redundancy
AWS Storage redundancy defines how Amazon replicates your data to ensure durability and availability.
Key difference from Azure: S3 Standard already replicates across 3+ AZs by default — no extra configuration needed. In Azure you must explicitly choose ZRS or higher.
1. S3 One Zone-IA
- Stores 3 copies of data within a single Availability Zone.
- Protects against hardware failures.
- Does NOT protect against AZ outages.
Use case: Cost-sensitive, re-creatable data with low risk of AZ failure.
2. S3 Standard (default)
- Replicates data across 3+ Availability Zones in the same region.
- 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability.
- Protects against AZ failures.
Use case: General-purpose storage — the default choice for most workloads.
3. S3 Cross-Region Replication (CRR)
- Asynchronously replicates objects to a bucket in a different AWS region.
- Read access to the replica is available via its own endpoint.
- Must be configured manually; incurs replication costs.
Use case: Disaster recovery across regions.
4. S3 Standard + CRR (Multi-region)
- Combines multi-AZ in the primary region (S3 Standard)
- Plus replication to a secondary region (CRR)
- Provides both high availability and disaster protection.
Use case: Mission-critical applications needing full geo-redundancy.
Comparison Table
| Type | Copies | Scope | AZ Protection | Region Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S3 One Zone-IA | 3 | Single AZ | ❌ | ❌ |
| S3 Standard | ≥3 | Multiple AZs | ✔ | ❌ |
| S3 + CRR | ≥6 | Multi-region | ✔ | ✔ |
| EBS (single) | Multiple | Intra-AZ | ❌ | ❌ |
Choose based on cost, availability, and disaster recovery needs.
S3 Storage Classes (Access Tiers)
S3 provides different storage classes to optimize cost based on how frequently data is accessed.
S3 Standard
- Optimized for frequently accessed data
- Highest storage cost
- No retrieval fee
- Instant access
Use cases:
- Active datasets
- Website content
- Frequently used files
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
- Automatically moves objects between frequent and infrequent tiers
- No retrieval fee
- Small per-object monitoring fee
- Instant access
Use cases:
- Unpredictable or changing access patterns
- When you don’t want to manage lifecycle rules manually
S3 Standard-IA (Infrequent Access)
- Optimized for infrequently accessed data
- Lower storage cost than Standard
- Per-GB retrieval fee
- Minimum 30-day storage charge
- Instant access
Use cases:
- Short-term backups
- Disaster recovery data
- Data accessed ~once a month
S3 One Zone-IA
- Same as Standard-IA but stored in a single AZ only
- ~20% cheaper than Standard-IA
- No protection against AZ failure
Use cases:
- Re-creatable infrequent data
- Secondary backup copies
S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
- Archive pricing with millisecond retrieval
- Higher retrieval fee
- Minimum 90-day storage charge
Use cases:
- Data accessed ~once a quarter
- Medical images, news media archives
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
- Low-cost archive storage
- Retrieval in 1–12 hours (expedited: 1–5 min, standard: 3–5 hrs, bulk: 5–12 hrs)
- Minimum 90-day storage charge
Use cases:
- Compliance and archival data
- Historical records accessed ~once a year
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- Lowest cost S3 storage class
- Retrieval in 12–48 hours
- Minimum 180-day storage charge
Use cases:
- Long-term regulatory retention
- Data accessed once or twice a year
Comparison Table
| Class | Storage Cost | Retrieval Fee | Access Speed | Min Storage | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | High | None | Instant | None | Frequent access |
| Intelligent-Tiering | Variable | None | Instant | None | Unknown patterns |
| Standard-IA | Medium | Per GB | Instant | 30 days | Monthly access |
| One Zone-IA | Lower | Per GB | Instant | 30 days | Re-creatable IA data |
| Glacier Instant | Low | Higher | Milliseconds | 90 days | Quarterly access |
| Glacier Flexible | Very Low | High | 1–12 hours | 90 days | Yearly access |
| Glacier Deep Archive | Lowest | Highest | 12–48 hours | 180 days | Rarely accessed |
Choose the class based on how often you access your data to balance cost and performance.
Tip: Use S3 Lifecycle Policies to automatically transition objects between classes as they age — e.g. Standard → Standard-IA after 30 days → Glacier after 90 days.
