L11. Storage: S3, EBS, EFS, and S3 Glacier
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AWS storage covers object, block, and file storage types. The Cloud Practitioner exam tests Amazon S3 storage classes, S3 features, EBS volumes, EFS, and S3 Glacier archival storage.
Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)
S3 is object storage for any amount of data with high durability (11 nines: 99.999999999%). S3 Storage Classes (exam critical):
| Class | Use Case | Min Duration | Retrieval |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | Frequently accessed data | None | Immediate |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | Variable access patterns | None | Immediate |
| S3 Standard-IA | Infrequently accessed, rapid retrieval needed | 30 days | Immediate |
| S3 One Zone-IA | Non-critical, infrequent, single AZ | 30 days | Immediate |
| S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval | Archive, millisecond retrieval | 90 days | Milliseconds |
| S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval | Archive, minutes-hours retrieval | 90 days | 1 min to 12 hrs |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | Long-term archive, lowest cost | 180 days | 12-48 hours |
- Versioning: keeps multiple versions of an object; protects against accidental deletion
- Replication: S3 Cross-Region Replication (CRR) copies objects to another Region; S3 Same-Region Replication (SRR) copies within same Region
- Static website hosting: serve static HTML/CSS/JS from S3
- Presigned URLs: temporary authenticated links to private S3 objects
- S3 Transfer Acceleration: speeds up large file uploads using CloudFront edge locations
Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)
EBS volumes are persistent block storage attached to EC2 instances, like a network-attached hard drive. Key facts:
- EBS volumes persist independently of EC2 instance lifecycle
- Volumes can only be attached to one EC2 instance at a time (exception: EBS Multi-Attach for specific use cases)
- Volumes must be in the same AZ as the EC2 instance
Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)
EFS is a managed NFS file system that can be mounted by multiple EC2 instances across multiple AZs simultaneously. Use when: multiple EC2 instances need shared file access, or when you need elastic file storage that scales automatically. Difference from EBS: EBS = one EC2 at a time in one AZ. EFS = multiple EC2s across multiple AZs.
Amazon S3 vs. EBS vs. EFS
| Feature | S3 | EBS | EFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Object | Block | File (NFS) |
| Attached to | Not attached | One EC2 | Multiple EC2s |
| Access | HTTP/API | Block device | Mount point |
| Best for | Static files, backups | Boot volumes, databases | Shared content, CMS |
- ✓S3 is object storage with 11 nines durability; seven storage classes from Standard to Glacier Deep Archive
- ✓S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost class but retrieval takes 12-48 hours
- ✓EBS is block storage attached to a single EC2 instance in the same AZ
- ✓EFS is shared NFS file storage mountable by multiple EC2 instances across multiple AZs simultaneously
- ✓S3 versioning protects against accidental deletion; CRR replicates to another Region for DR
1. A company stores compliance records that must be retained for 10 years but are almost never accessed. Which S3 storage class provides the lowest cost?
2. Multiple EC2 instances in different Availability Zones need to read and write to a shared file system simultaneously. Which AWS storage service should be used?
Recommended: Pluralsight
Complement these lessons with Pluralsight: structured CLF-C02 learning paths, AWS hands-on labs, and realistic practice questions for exam day.