Amazon S3 storage classes are designed to support various use cases, each offering different performance attributes, price points, and varying levels of durability and availability. Understanding these differences is essential for an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
Amazon S3 Standard
Amazon S3 Standard is the default storage class and is designed for general-purpose storage of frequently accessed data. It delivers low latency and high throughput performance. S3 Standard is suitable for a wide variety of use cases, including cloud applications, dynamic websites, content distribution, and big data analytics.
| Availability | Durability | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| 99.99% | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | High cost per GB stored, high cost per GB retrieved |
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is designed to optimize costs by automatically moving data to the most cost-effective access tier, without performance impact or operational overhead. It is ideal for data with unknown or changing access patterns.
The Intelligent-Tiering storage class has two access tiers: frequent access and infrequent access. If an object in the frequent access tier is not accessed for 30 consecutive days, Amazon S3 automatically moves it to the infrequent access tier.
| Availability | Durability | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| 99.9% | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | High cost per GB stored, low cost per GB retrieved, small monthly monitoring and auto-tiering fee |
S3 Standard-IA
S3 Standard-IA (Infrequent Access) is for data that is accessed less frequently, but requires rapid access when needed. Standard-IA offers the high durability, throughput, and low latency of S3 Standard, with a lower cost per GB stored.
| Availability | Durability | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| 99.9% | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | Low cost per GB stored, high cost per GB retrieved |
S3 One Zone-IA
S3 One Zone-IA is for data that is accessed infrequently, but requires rapid access when needed. Unlike other S3 storage classes which store data in a minimum of three availability zones, S3 One Zone-IA stores data in a single AZ and costs 20% less than S3 Standard-IA.
| Availability | Durability | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| 99.5% | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | Lower cost per GB stored, high cost per GB retrieved |
S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive
These are for long-term backup and archive and have the lowest storage costs. They offer flexible retrieval options, from minutes to hours. S3 Glacier is suitable for archives where portions of the data might be needed in minutes. S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class and supports long-term retention and digital preservation for data that may be accessed once or twice in a year. The retrieval time is within 12 hours.
| Availability | Durability | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| – | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | Lowest cost per GB stored, retrieval cost based on retrieval time |
When preparing for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, understanding the distinct features of each storage class can help in making cost-effective and efficient decisions for storing data in the AWS Cloud.
Practice Test
Amazon S3 offers only a single storage class designed for a specific set of use cases.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon S3 provides multiple storage classes designed for different use cases.
S3 Standard Storage class is the most frequently used and oldest class on AWS S
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: S3 Standard offers a base level of redundancy and is designed for general-purpose storage of frequently accessed data.
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is designed for infrequently accessed data.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves your data based on changing access patterns between two access tiers: frequent access and infrequent access.
What storage class suits best for archive data that are not frequently accessed?
- S3 Standard
- S3 Intelligent-Tiering
- S3 Glacier
- S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access
Answer: S3 Glacier
Explanation: S3 Glacier is used for archiving data that is not frequently accessed and can be restored in minutes when needed.
S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access offers the same levels of redundancy and durability as S3 Standard-Infrequent Access.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access stores data in only one availability zone, providing lower durability and availability than S3 Standard-Infrequent Access, but at a lower cost.
Amazon S3 Glacier is suitable for storing short-term backup and disaster recovery data.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon S3 Glacier is used for long-term backup and archival storage, not for short-term backup or disaster recovery data.
S3 Standard is generally the most expensive S3 storage class.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: S3 Standard is designed for performance, immediate data access, and high redundancy, thus generally costs more than the other classes.
In terms of pricing, the costliest S3 storage class is?
- S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access
- S3 Standard
- S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Answer: S3 Standard
Explanation: S3 Standard, with high durability, availability, and performance, is generally the costliest amongst S3 storage classes.
S3 Intelligent-Tiering incurs a monitoring fee.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: S3 Intelligent-Tiering has a small monthly cost for monitoring and auto-tiering objects, in addition to storage and retrieval fees.
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is designed for long-term retention of data that is accessed once or twice in a year.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: S3 Glacier Deep Archive is Amazon S3’s cheapest storage class, designed for long-term archiving of data that’s rarely accessed.
The S3 Standard-Infrequent Access storage class has lower availability than the S3 Standard storage class.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: While S3 Standard offers 99% availability, S3 Standard-Infrequent Access provides a slightly lower availability of 9%.
The S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access stores data redundantly across multiple geographically separated AZs.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Unlike most other Amazon S3 storage classes which store data in a minimum of three Availability Zones (AZs), S3 One Zone-IA stores data in a single AZ.
Creation and deletion of objects in S3 Intelligent-Tiering, S3 One Zone-IA, S3 Glacier, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive incur some additional fees.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: In these storage classes, there are costs associated with restoring (for Glacier) or deleting objects within a certain period after uploading.
Data stored in S3 Standard can be retrieved instantly at any time.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon S3 Standard is designed for frequently accessed data and provides low latency and high throughput performance, allowing for instant data retrieval.
The S3 Glacier Deep Archive is designed for data that needs to be stored for 7-10 years and rarely accessed.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class, ideal for long-term data archiving that needs to be retained for 7-10 years and isn’t accessed frequently.
Interview Questions
What are the four standard storage classes in Amazon S3?
The four standard storage classes in Amazon S3 are Standard, Intelligent-Tiering, One Zone-Infrequent Access, and Glacier.
What is the main difference between the S3 Standard and S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage classes?
The S3 Standard storage class is for general-purpose storage of frequently accessed data, while the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class is designed to optimize costs by automatically moving data to the most cost-effective access tier, without performance impact, or operational overhead.
What is the Amazon S3 storage class that is designed for long-term backup and digital preservation?
The Amazon S3 Glacier storage class is designed for long-term backup and digital preservation.
When should S3 One Zone-IA be used?
S3 One Zone-IA should be used for storing secondary backup copies of data and easily re-creatable data. It has the same durability but lower availability since the data is stored in a single Availability Zone.
Between S3 Standard and S3 Glacier, which storage class has quicker data access times?
S3 Standard has quicker data access times. With S3 Glacier, data retrieval times can be chosen from minutes to hours.
Which S3 storage class is ideal for data archiving where data is rarely accessed and retrieved?
S3 Glacier is ideal for data archiving where data is rarely accessed and retrieved.
What Amazon S3 storage class offers the lowest storage cost?
Amazon S3 Glacier offers the lowest storage cost.
Which Amazon S3 storage class will provide the lowest cost for infrequently accessed data?
Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access provides the lowest cost for infrequently accessed data.
What is the main difference between Amazon S3 Standard-IA and Amazon S3 One Zone-IA?
The difference is in the number of Availability Zones. S3 Standard-IA stores data in multiple Availability Zones while S3 One Zone-IA stores data in a single Availability Zone, with a lower cost and less resilience.
What is the Amazon S3 storage class that automatically moves data based on changing access patterns?
Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering is the storage class that automatically moves data based on changing access patterns.
What is the key feature of S3 Glacier Deep Archive?
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is Amazon S3’s lowest-cost storage class where retrieval times of 12 hours are acceptable.
Which Amazon S3 storage class provides a short latency and high throughput performance for frequently accessed data?
Amazon S3 Standard storage class provides a short latency and high throughput performance for frequently accessed data.
Which Amazon S3 storage class should you use for disaster recovery?
Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access is often used for disaster recovery because of its lower cost. However, for data that needs higher availability, Amazon S3 Standard should be used.
Which S3 storage class does not have a minimum storage duration charge?
Amazon S3 Standard and S3 Intelligent-Tiering do not have minimum storage duration charges, unlike S3 Standard-IA, S3 One Zone-IA, and S3 Glacier.
Which S3 storage class is best suited for data that has unknown or unpredictable access patterns?
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is best-suited for data with unknown or unpredictable access patterns as it automatically moves data across different access tiers based on utilization patterns.
extutorials.com