Storage Need
|
Solution
|
AWS Services
|
File system
|
Amazon S3 uses a flat
namespace and isn’t meant to serve as a standalone, POSIX-compliant file
system. Instead, consider using Amazon EFS as a file system.
|
Amazon EFS
|
Structured data with query
|
Amazon S3 doesn’t offer query
capabilities to retrieve specific objects. When you use Amazon S3 you need to
know the exact bucket name and key for the files you want to retrieve from
the service. Amazon S3 can’t be used as a database or search engine by
itself. Instead, you can pair Amazon S3 with Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon
CloudSearch, or Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) to index and
query metadata about Amazon S3 buckets and objects.
|
Amazon DynamoDB Amazon RDS
Amazon CloudSearch
|
Rapidly changing data
|
Data that must be updated very
frequently might be better served by storage solutions that take into account
read and write latencies, such as Amazon EBS volumes, Amazon RDS, Amazon
DynamoDB, Amazon EFS, or relational databases running on Amazon EC2.
|
Amazon EBS
Amazon EFS Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon RDS
Amazon EC2
|
Archival data
|
Data that requires encrypted
archival storage with infrequent read access with a long recovery time
objective (RTO) can be stored in Amazon Glacier more cost-effectively.
|
Amazon Glacier
|
Dynamic website hosting
|
Although Amazon S3 is ideal
for static content websites, dynamic websites that depend on database
interaction or use server-side scripting should be hosted on Amazon EC2 or
Amazon EFS.
|
Amazon EC2
Amazon EFS
|
Immediate access
|
Data stored in Amazon Glacier
is not available immediately. Retrieval jobs typically require 3–5 hours to
complete, so if you need immediate access to your object data, Amazon S3 is a
better choice.
|
Amazon S3
|
Relational database storage
|
In most cases, relational
databases require storage that is mounted, accessed, and locked by a single
node (EC2 instance, etc.). When running relational databases on AWS, look at
leveraging Amazon RDS or Amazon EC2 with Amazon EBS PIOPS volumes.
In most cases, relational
databases require storage that persists beyond the lifetime of a single EC2
instance, making EBS volumes the natural choice.
|
Amazon RDS Amazon EC2 Amazon
EBS
|
Temporary storage
|
Consider using local instance
store volumes for needs such as scratch disks, buffers, queues, and caches.
|
Amazon EC2 Local Instance
Store
|
Multi-instance storage
|
Amazon EBS volumes can only be
attached to one EC2 instance at a time. If you need multiple EC2 instances
accessing volume data at the same time, consider using Amazon EFS as a file
system.
|
Amazon EFS
|
Highly durable storage
|
If you need very highly
durable storage, use S3 or Amazon EFS. Amazon S3 Standard storage is designed
for 99.999999999 percent (11 nines) annual durability per object. You can
even decide to take a snapshot of the EBS volumes. Such a snapshot then gets
saved in Amazon S3, thus providing you the durability of Amazon S3. For more
information on EBS durability, see the Durability and Availability section.
EFS is designed for high durability and high availability, with data stored
in multiple Availability Zones within an AWS Region.
|
Amazon S3
Amazon EFS
|
Static data or web content
|
If your data doesn’t change
that often, Amazon S3 might represent a more cost-effective and scalable
solution for storing this fixed information. Also, web content served out of
Amazon EBS requires a web server running on Amazon EC2; in contrast, you can
deliver web content directly out of Amazon S3 or from multiple EC2 instances
using Amazon EFS.
|
Amazon S3
Amazon EFS
|
Relational database storage
|
In most cases, relational
databases require storage that persists beyond the lifetime of a single EC2
instance, making EBS volumes the natural choice.
|
Amazon EC2 Amazon EBS
|
Shared storage
|
Instance store volumes are
dedicated to a single EC2 instance and can’t be shared with other systems or
users. If you need storage that can be detached from one instance and
attached to a different instance, or if you need the ability to share data
easily, Amazon EFS, Amazon S3, or Amazon EBS are better choices.
|
Amazon EFS Amazon S3 Amazon
EBS
|
Snapshots
|
If you need the convenience,
long-term durability, availability, and the ability to share point-in-time
disk snapshots, EBS volumes are a better choice.
|
Amazon EBS
|