There are seven different possibilities for Amazon S3 storage classes including S3 Standard IA. You can only pay for what you use with this approach, which helps you scale your data storage with your business demands.
You may tailor your approach to cloud storage with S3 storage classes. Users can only utilize the storage they actually need thanks to the seven tiers that make up the storage class, each of which has a specific purpose to fulfill. We shall talk about the following:
- S3 Storage Classes: What Are They?
- How Does S3 Storage Work?
- A Breakdown of Each S3 Tier
- S3 and Seagate Lyve Cloud
What Are the S3 storage classes ?
Simply said, S3 storage, also known as Simple Storage Service, is a huge data storage service. S3 is very scalable and has seven layers, so it can hold and access data for users for a long time. S3 is an online cloud storage service that was created especially for archiving and data backups.
How Do You Use S3 Storage?
As previously indicated, S3 data is stored as objects to enable extremely scalable storage. A user will create what’s called a bucket in order to store these objects. S3 makes use of the following features in addition to buckets, which have an infinite capacity to store objects:
- Unlimited storage with elastic scalability
- Adaptable data format for data retrieval and organization
- Downloading data to allow for internal sharing inside your company
- Permissions: To safeguard data, only grant access to specific individuals
- S3 Adapters
The user has the ability to choose the region in which they want to deploy their bucket when they create it. Subsequently, the S3 objects, or data, are uploaded to the bucket, which functions as a data storage container. The amount of things that can be stored in buckets is unlimited, and each bucket and object is given a unique identification number.
The user selects the type of S3 storage class to be used, based on the intended usage of the data. This procedure is automated, only billing for the actual amount used, and scaling based on activity.
Types of S3 Storage Classes
There are seven distinct S3 storage levels that may be used to conveniently meet diverse needs for cost, protection, and data storage and access. Both people and large and small businesses use them. The classes are available for selection based on the workload of the individual, who may have particular needs related to data access, data protection, economic considerations, or resilience. The varieties that are recognized are:
- S3 Standard
- S3 Intelligent-Tiering
- S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard IA)
- S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) S3 Standard IA
- S3 Outposts
- Glacier
- Glacier Deep Archive
Comparing the S3 Storage Classes
| S/N | Storage Class | Aims to Achieve | Best Use Case |
| 1 | S3 Standard | Ideal storage for frequently accessed data | Cloud applications, dynamic websites, content distribution, mobile and gaming applications, and big data analytics |
| 2 | S3 Intelligent-Tiering | Optimising storage cost by automatically moving users’ accounts to the most cost-effective tier | Data lakes, data analytics, and user-generated content |
| 3 | S3 Standard IA | For data that is accessed less frequently, but requires immediate access when needed | Long-term data storage, backup, data store for data recovery files |
| 4 | S3 One Zone-IA | The storage of infrequently accessed data at a 20% lower cost than S3 Standard IA | Storing secondary backup copies of on-premises data or easily re-creatable data |
| 5 | S3 Outposts | Delivery of object storage in Outpost environments | Workloads with local data residency requirements |
| 6 | Glacier | Delivering low-cost storage for archives that are accessed one-to-two times per year | Archived data that needs immediate access, such as medical images, news media assets, or user-generated content |
| 7 | Glacier Deep Archive | Long-term retention and preservation of data | Customers in healthcare, public sectors, and financial services; disaster recovery cases and backups |
The Seven S3 Storage Class Types Explained
S3 Standard
For data that is accessed frequently, the S3 Standard storage type is very adaptable and perfect. Multiple sites for data storage are possible with S3 Standard. It is performance-sensitive, widely available, and long-lasting for a range of applications. Because of its broad capabilities, it is the most costly.
When a user creates an account without specifying the type of storage to be utilized, S3 Standard is selected as the default storage. Without requiring an application update, objects can be migrated to different storage classes using the S3 Standard lifetime policies.
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
By automatically transferring your account to the most economical tier, S3 Intelligent-Tiering optimizes storage costs. By examining your access patterns, this is accomplished. It doesn’t, however, have an impact on retrieval prices or performance. Data having erratic access patterns can be stored in this form of storage. This kind of data persists throughout time and is kept in the enterprise’s system.
Two tiers are used in S3 Intelligent-Tiering. Data that is accessed frequently is stored in one, while data that is accessed less frequently and at a reduced cost is stored in another. Data is automatically migrated between the two layers for a period of thirty days, contingent upon the user’s behavior. Numerous workloads, including data analytics, data lakes, user-generated content, and more, can be handled by this kind of storage.
S3 Standard IA
Data that has to be accessible fast when needed but is not used frequently is stored in this form of storage. It is resilient to the loss of two facilities, much like the S3 standard. Multiple availability zones separated by distance are used to store its data. While it costs less per gigabyte for storage and retrieval, it performs, has low latency, and is very durable than the S3 Standard. The lifetime policies of the S3 Standard IA can be used to move objects to different storage classes without requiring an application update, just like those of the S3 Standard.
S3 One Zone-IA
Data is stored in a single availability zone by the S3 One Zone-IA, in contrast to other S3 storage classes that store data in up to three availability zones. S3 One Zone-IA, designed for rarely accessed data, is 20% less expensive than S3 Standard IA. Customers who don’t require the availability or resilience features of S3 Standard or S3 Standard IA but are searching for a less expensive choice for sporadic data access could utilize it.
Secondary backup copies of readily re-creatable data can be stored on the S3 One Zone-IA. Since S3 One Zone-IA stores its data in a single availability zone, it will lose it if the availability zone is deleted.
S3 OutPosts
This storage gives your Outposts access to S3 object storage capabilities. Data is redundantly stored via S3 Outposts for server and device recovery. Any data that is stored is known to be durable thanks to S3 Outposts. In addition to allowing authentication methods via S3 Access Points and IAM policies, the S3 Outposts have an encryption capability.
S3 and Lyve Cloud Storage
As an adjunct to current S3 storage, Seagate Lyve Cloud is a cloud-based object storage solution.
The language of cloud-based data storage is, in essence, standard S3 API. To convert this S3 language into scalable object storage, Lyve Cloud offers an intuitive interface that is simple to:
- Keep for extended lengths of time (cold storage)
- Obtain quickly when required
- Backup and restore in conjunction with extra backup and recovery partners
With Seagate Lyve Cloud, enterprise applications can simply connect to internet-based apps and create private, hybrid, and multicloud data centers while still having access to large-scale data storage.
