Object Storage Classes – Amazon S3 vs S3 Glacier

What is Amazon S3

Amazon S3, or Amazon Simple Storage Service, is a highly scalable and reliable object storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows individuals and businesses to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere in the world. Designed with flexibility in mind, Amazon S3 can be used for a wide range of applications, from hosting static websites to storing big data for analytics and machine learning.

Amazon S3 operates by storing data as "objects," which can be files, images, videos, backups, or any other type of digital data. Each object is stored in a "bucket," which is a container that holds objects. These buckets have unique names and can be configured with specific permissions, security settings, and lifecycle policies.

What is Amazon Glacier

Amazon Glacier is designed for long-term data archiving and backup. Unlike traditional storage solutions that prioritize quick access, Glacier is engineered for data that doesn't need to be retrieved frequently, making it an ideal choice for organizations looking to store large volumes of data at a lower cost.

Amazon Glacier operates by storing data across multiple, highly durable data centers. This redundancy ensures that even in the event of a hardware failure or a data center outage, your data remains intact and accessible, though retrieval times can vary depending on the retrieval method chosen.

Glacier uses advanced encryption to secure data, both at rest and in transit, offering a high level of security for sensitive information.

Amazon S3 vs Amazon S3 Glacier

The primary difference between Amazon Glacier and Amazon S3 is the intended use case. Glacier is focused on archival storage, with longer retrieval times but lower costs. S3, in contrast, is designed for quick access and real-time data processing. The choice between the two depends on the speed at which you need to retrieve your data and the budget for storage.

Comparison Table for the differences between Amazon S3 and S3 Glacier

Can I Integrate Amazon Glacier and Amazon S3

One of the most effective ways to use these two services together is by implementing lifecycle policies. This allows you to automatically move data between Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier based on specific criteria, like data age or storage class transitions.

Benefits of Using Amazon Glacier and Amazon S3 Together

🔰 Cost Savings: Storing data in Glacier is significantly cheaper than in S3. Using lifecycle policies to move infrequently accessed data to Glacier can result in substantial cost savings.

🔰 Data Retention: Combining S3 and Glacier allows you to retain data for compliance and archival purposes, while keeping frequently accessed data readily available.

🔰 Scalability: Both S3 and Glacier offer scalable storage solutions, allowing you to manage large volumes of data without worrying about hardware limitations.

Easy and Automatic Backups to Amazon S3 Easily

AOMEI Cyber Backup offers an effortless and automated solution for backing up data to Amazon S3, streamlining the process of securing critical information. With its intuitive interface and user-friendly features, users can easily configure backup tasks to run on a scheduled basis, ensuring that data is consistently and reliably archived without manual intervention. The software seamlessly integrates with Amazon S3, leveraging its scalable and highly durable storage capabilities to provide a robust backup solution.

By combining AOMEI Cyber Backup's powerful features with Amazon S3's reliable infrastructure, users can achieve comprehensive data security with minimal effort.

How to Backup VMware ESXi VMs to Amazon S3 Automatically

1. Bind Devices: Launch AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, navigate to Source Device > VMware> + Add VMware Device to add vCenter or Standalone ESXi hosts as the source device. And then click … > Bind Device.

2. Create Backup Task: Navigate to Backup Task > + Create New Task, and then set it up according to your needs.

• Device: cover multiple VMs on the host in one backup task.
• Target: selecting to back up to a local path, or to a network path. Used paths will be saved in Favorite Storage for handy selection.
• Archive: Check "Archiving backup version to Amazon S3" and Select a S3 bucket.

• Schedule: choosing to perform full, differential or incremental backup, and automate execution daily, weekly or monthly according to the frequency you specified.
• Backup cleanup: Configure a retention policy to auto delete old backup files and save storage space.

3. Start Backup: Click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now or Add the schedule only.

To manage your archive tasks of VMware ESXi backups to S3 in "Backup Archive". For example, stop archiving, re-enable archiving, pause all archiving and start all archiving.

• Archive all backup versions: Start archiving from the first version of the backup task.
• Archiving from the last full backup version: The last full backup refers to the most recent complete copy of all data. Starting archiving from the last full backup means performing archiving operations based on this backup version, not starting from previous incremental or differential backup versions.
• Archiving from the next full backup version: Starting archiving from the next full backup version means that when the next full backup is performed, this version will be set as the new starting point for archiving operations.

Conclusion

Amazon Glacier and Amazon S3 cater to different storage needs. Glacier is best for long-term archiving and data that doesn't require quick retrieval. S3 is more suitable for data that needs to be readily accessible. Understanding the unique benefits of each service allows you to make informed decisions about your cloud storage strategy.