AWS S3 Glacier Summary
Amazon S3 Glacier is a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost storage service for data archiving and long-term backup. It is designed for data that is accessed infrequently and can tolerate retrieval times ranging from minutes to hours.
Key Features:
- Low Cost: S3 Glacier offers the lowest storage cost among AWS storage services, making it ideal for storing large amounts of data that you don’t need to access frequently.
- Durability: S3 Glacier is designed for 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability, ensuring that your data is highly protected against loss or corruption.
- Security: S3 Glacier data is automatically encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption and supports various security features, including AWS IAM integration, Vault access policies, and Vault lock policies.
- Lifecycle Policies: You can use S3 lifecycle policies to automatically move data from other S3 storage classes to S3 Glacier based on predefined rules. This helps you manage your storage costs effectively.
- Data Retrieval Options: S3 Glacier offers flexible data retrieval options to meet different needs and budgets:
- Expedited Retrieval: Retrieves data in 1-5 minutes but has the highest retrieval cost.
- Standard Retrieval: Retrieves data in 3-5 hours and is a balanced option for cost and speed.
- Bulk Retrieval: Retrieves large amounts of data (petabytes) in 5-12 hours and is the most cost-effective option.
S3 Glacier Storage Classes:
- S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval: Offers immediate data access with millisecond retrieval times and the lowest storage cost among Glacier options. Suitable for data that requires immediate access, such as medical images or active archives.
- S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval: Provides flexible retrieval options, ranging from minutes to hours. Free bulk retrievals are available in 5-12 hours. Suitable for backups, disaster recovery, and less frequently accessed data.
- S3 Glacier Deep Archive: Designed for long-term data archiving with the lowest storage cost. Retrieval takes approximately 12 hours. Ideal for data that needs to be retained for regulatory or compliance purposes and is rarely accessed.
Key Concepts:
- Vault: A container for storing archives in S3 Glacier, similar to an S3 bucket.
- Archive: The fundamental unit of storage in S3 Glacier, analogous to an object in S3.
- Vault Access Policy: A policy that controls access to a vault.
- Vault Lock Policy: A more restrictive policy that, once set, cannot be changed. It helps meet regulatory and compliance requirements.
How it Works:
- Create a Vault: You create a vault to store your archives.
- Upload Data: You upload your data to the vault as archives using the AWS SDK, API, or S3 lifecycle policies.
- Retrieve Data: When you need to access your data, you initiate a retrieval request based on your desired retrieval option (Expedited, Standard, or Bulk).
- Data is Retrieved: S3 Glacier retrieves the data and makes it available to you.
Benefits:
- Cost Savings: S3 Glacier significantly reduces storage costs compared to other storage services.
- Data Protection: The service offers high durability and security features to protect your data.
- Simplified Management: AWS handles the infrastructure and management of S3 Glacier, reducing administrative overhead.
- Compliance: S3 Glacier supports compliance requirements with features like Vault lock policies.
Use Cases:
- Long-Term Backups: Storing backups that are not needed for immediate recovery but must be retained for a long time.
- Data Archiving: Preserving large datasets for historical, regulatory, or compliance purposes.
- Media Asset Management: Archiving media files, such as videos or images, that are not frequently accessed.
- Scientific Data Storage: Storing large scientific datasets that require long-term preservation.
Key Takeaways:
- S3 Glacier is an excellent choice for organizations looking for a cost-effective and reliable solution for long-term data storage and archiving.
- Its flexibility in retrieval options allows you to balance cost and speed based on your specific needs.
- It is important to understand the retrieval timeframes associated with different retrieval options when designing applications or workflows that rely on data stored in S3 Glacier.