AWS Storage: Best Practices and Use Cases


Among the many services that AWS Services offers, AWS Storage is one of them. This service will help your company maintain backups with all the data to have that support in the event of any disaster. 

In the following article, we will discuss AWS Storage, what it is, how it works, its main use cases, the benefits of AWS Storage, and how we can make the most of this tool to implement it in your company.

AWS Storage: What is it and how does it work?

AWS Storage is a cloud storage service that allows you to store data on the Internet through a cloud computing provider, which will maintain secure infrastructure and storage services, providing you with scalability and access to all data from anywhere and at any time.

Now, how does AWS Storage work?

Through a private connection or over the internet, the client grants access to data, resources, data availability, files, and the provider is responsible for managing and distributing them to data centers in different parts of the world, allowing access to them at any time from anywhere.

What are the key features of AWS storage?

  • Data Management 

    AWS Storage allows you to have data management that helps with organizing data for specific uses, reinforcing the ease of use of this data in case of any issues. 

  • Scalability 

    It allows you to scale up and down vertically when you need it, for data analytics, backups, security, as needed, effectively and quickly. 

  • Agility 

    By using these tools offered by AWS Storage, you reduce the time to find and use the resources you need as they are available to you in a matter of seconds. 

  • Security 

    AWS Storage allows you to manage who accesses the data, the resources being used, where the data is stored, providing the necessary security and confidence to the user.

What are the main use cases for AWS Storage?

  1. 1

    Backup 

    Data backup is a crucial element for a company, providing a backup of information in the cloud in case of any errors or issues. Backups are performed automatically, saving you time and daily work. 

  2. 2

    Data Migration 

    It allows you to migrate large amounts of data to the cloud easily and quickly, thanks to hybrid services and data movement services that find a common point where the physical world meets and thus facilitate data transfer to the cloud.

  3. 3

    Data Analysis 

    This tool will serve you to have the information you need in the shortest possible time, also including metadata that allows the extraction of selective data for analysis.

  4. 4

    Software Development 

    Web page or application developers seek low-cost cloud storage that allows them to eliminate problems such as flexibility, administration, and scaling, improving the efficiency and performance of their work.

Which companies and businesses are using AWS storage? 

Many large companies use the different storage platforms offered by AWS Storage for their data control and storage. Some of these companies are:

  • Snapchat 

    This company uses Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval to save costs while storing 2 exabytes and more than 1.5 trillion photos and videos on this platform.

  • Nascar 

    Nascar uses Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval to preserve all its data, with restorations between 3-5 min, then migrates the data to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive that allows them to preserve this data for the long term and at a very low cost.

  • Johnson & Johnson 

    This company uses Amazon EFS services to create petabyte-scale file system access that supports genomic sequence data at 550TB and reduces data analysis time.

What are the different types of AWS storage? 

AWS Storage offers you 3 types of storage with different functions and benefits for your company.

  1. 1

    Object storage 

    Object storage is used to store a large amount of unstructured data, objects are not organized in files but stored in buckets that offer almost unlimited scalability.

    AWS Storage solutions, such as Amazon S3 or Amazon Glacier, are perfect for applications that require scale and flexibility. 

  2. 2

    File storage 

    File storage is used by applications to host data in folders or files. This type of storage is known as a network-attached storage (NAS) server. Amazon EFS is commonly used for media stores or as content repositories.

  3. 3

    Block storage 

    Block storage is used for enterprise applications such as databases or ERP systems that require dedicated storage and low latency for each host.

    Each block has its own identifier for fast storage and retrieval. Amazon EBS and EC2 Instance Storage are commonly used for block storage.

What are the best storage platforms offered by AWS?

Amazon S3

Amazon S3 offers object storage, which enables you to store and protect any amount of data, giving you access to it from anywhere, while providing scalability, availability, security, and performance.

Uses of Amazon S3 can include:

  • Data lake creation

    Allows you to run big data and high-performance computing (HPC) applications to gain insights from data.

  • Backup and restore of critical data

    Allows you to meet recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives.

Amazon EBS

Amazon EBS stores your data in high-performance blocks at any scale. Amazon EBS is designed to work with Amazon EC2.

It works by selecting the type of volume to use (SSD or HDD), then mounting it to an EC2 instance and running the application on persistent volume blocks, offering 99.9% availability.

Uses of Amazon EBS can include:

  • Run relational or NoSQL databases 

    You will be able to deploy and scale the databases you need such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and MongoDB.

  • Resize your big data analysis engines 

    You will be able to resize clusters for big data analysis engines, easily separate and join volumes.

Amazon Glacier

Amazon Glacier is a low-cost, highly durable storage solution primarily used for storing backups or infrequently accessed files. Uses of Amazon Glacier can include: 

  • File Volume 

    Amazon Glacier allows you to store as many files as you need for the long term at a low cost.

  • Using other services 

    Glacier allows you to move files in and out with other AWS services such as S3 for more effective results.

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)

Amazon EFS stores files in a completely elastic and serverless manner, providing a system that offers durability, scalability, and availability as a service.

EFS automatically increases and decreases when you add or delete files, without the need for management. Uses of Amazon EFS can include: 

  • Serverless Data Sharing 

    You can share your AWS container data without the need for server or administration of these. 

  • Accelerate Data Science 

    It provides the necessary performance and uniformity for loading big data analysis and machine learning.

Which AWS storage platform is right for your organization? 

To determine which storage platform is appropriate for your company, evaluate the following scenarios, then consider the type of storage your company needs and choose the appropriate one.

  • Long-term storage for all types of data 

    If applications require storage for all types of data, with high durability, uninterrupted access, and large scale, Amazon S3 is the right choice as it allows storing any volume of data and accessing it at any time, and is designed for 99.9% durability.

  • File storage for infrequently accessed data 

    For access to infrequently accessed data, you need to consider the recovery time, which is several hours. Amazon Glacier offers this service, with low cost and high storage durability for archiving and performing backups with 99.9% durability.

  • Shared file storage 

    To create and configure file systems quickly for particular directories or content repositories, Amazon EFS is the appropriate choice for a shared file system. 

Cost considerations for selecting an AWS storage solutions

Evaluate and study what type of storage you need to choose the right platform. Depending on the platform you use, costs can vary per GB/month offered, ranging from $0.023-$0.08.

The AWS Pricing Calculator is a tool that will help you estimate the costs of the AWS services you will use. What you need to do is enter the service you are going to use, along with all the usage details, and it will give you the estimated price per service, group, and total.

What are the main benefits of AWS storage? 

  • Scale and Durability

    You have different storage options, all of which offer you scale and durability over time.

  • Payments and Prices

    You only pay for what you provision. All services offer you a very low cost and high durability.

  • Access

    Access your data at any time from anywhere.

  • Backups

    Backups for all types of data, whether objects, files, or blocks.

  • Security

    It offers you high security and privacy. You can manage who accesses the data, detect irregular activities, or encrypt data.

How to set up an AWS storage account? 

  1. 1

    Go to https://aws.amazon.com/ and sign in to your AWS account. 

  2. 2

    Click on "My account" and access the AWS management console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/console/home

  3. 3

    Select the storage service to use. 

  4. 4

    Create a bucket or volume depending on the platform to be used. 

  5. 5

    Configure the access policies or permissions to be given to the bucket or volume. 

  6. 6

    Import the data automatically and load it into the bucket or volume. 

    Verify that the data has been loaded correctly. 

Tips on how to monitor and manage your data with AWS storage

  • Amazon CloudWatch

    Implement resources like Amazon CloudWatch, this tool allows you to view the status of services, create custom dashboards for tracking the services you're interested in. It also collects and analyzes data, allowing access through visualization tools.

  • Amazon Trusted Advisor

    Use Amazon Trusted Advisor, this tool uses checks to evaluate the account, helping you optimize the AWS infrastructure, improving security, performance, and enabling resource monitoring.

  • Access and permissions policies

    Establish access policies and permissions, it is important to implement security measures for data management and protection.

Best strategies on how to get the most out of your AWS storage account

  • Data distribution

    Distribute your data across different storage platforms that are suitable for each of them, so that you can streamline their processing. 

  • Cost tables

    Establish a cost table, which will allow you to evaluate how much you have available to know how much you can spend on these resources. 

  • Backup copies

    Implement the backup copies offered by these services, which will help you have a data backup in the event of a disaster. 

  • Monitoring

    Use monitoring tools to keep track of your resources and be aware of any errors.

Conclusion

AWS Storage is the best platform for your company to store all its data and information, allowing for easier tasks and processes, providing the security, scalability, and durability needed for proper functioning in a short time. 

Additionally, it offers different services that adapt to your budget, allowing you to use them at a low cost. Start now, use the tips and recommendations to get the most out of AWS Storage.

About the author

Youssef

Youssef is a Senior Cloud Consultant & Founder of ITCertificate.org

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