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How to reduce the EBS snapshots storage cost

Here are some ways to reduce the storage costs for Amazon EBS snapshots: Leverage the EBS Snapshots Archive storage tier: The EBS Snapshots Archive tier is much cheaper, costing about $0.0125 per GB-month compared to the standard tier's $0.05 per GB-month.  It's ideal for archiving infrequently accessed snapshots like monthly, quarterly, or yearly backups.  Retrieving data from the archive tier costs an additional $0.03 per GB. Optimize snapshot retention: Regularly review and delete unnecessary snapshots, especially older ones not part of the current volume lineage.  Consolidate multiple incremental snapshots into a single full snapshot to reduce storage footprint. Disable and archive snapshots for unused AMIs: Disable unused Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to prevent new instances from launching.  Archive their snapshots to the lower-cost EBS Snapshots Archive tier to maintain compliance and reduce storage costs for rarely accessed snapshots. Please see  Snapshot...

Difference between full snapshots and incremental snapshots

The differences between full snapshots and incremental snapshots in Amazon EBS are: Snapshot Type: Incremental snapshots: These snapshots only store the changed data blocks since the last snapshot, making them more efficient and cost-effective for frequent backups. Full snapshots: When you archive an incremental snapshot, it is converted to a full snapshot that includes all the blocks written to the volume at the time the snapshot was created. Incremental snapshots store only changed data blocks since the last snapshot, making them efficient and cost-effective for frequent backups.  When the increamental snapshot is archived, they are converted to full snapshots , that including all blocks written to the volume at the time of snapshot creation. Storage Tier: Incremental snapshots are stored in the Standard tier by default. Full snapshots are stored in the Archive tier after being converted from an incremental snapshot. Retrieval and Cost: Incremental snapshots in the Standard tie...

Snapshot storage tier types and cost difference

The key points on the different storage tiers and cost differences for EBS snapshots: Standard Tier: This is the default storage tier for EBS snapshots. Snapshots stored in the standard tier are incremental, meaning only the changed data blocks are stored. The pricing for the standard tier varies by AWS region, but is typically around $0.05 per GB-month. Archive Tier: The archive tier is a lower-cost storage option for rarely accessed snapshots. When you archive a snapshot, it is converted to a full snapshot (not incremental) and moved to the archive tier. The pricing for the archive tier is significantly lower, typically around $0.0125 per GB-month. However, there is an additional charge for retrieving data from the archive tier, around $0.03 per GB. Cost Savings: Archiving infrequently accessed snapshots to the lower-cost archive tier can result in significant cost savings, up to 75% compared to the standard tier. The savings are more substantial at larger scales, where there are mul...

Where the EBS snapshot stores and snapshot charges

Your Amazon EBS snapshots are stored in Amazon S3. When you create an EBS snapshot, it is automatically stored in the S3 bucket associated with your AWS account. The specific location where the snapshot is stored is not directly accessible to you, as AWS manages the underlying storage infrastructure. Here are a few key points about where your EBS snapshots are saved: EBS snapshots are stored in the AWS region where you created them. Each AWS region has its own set of S3 buckets where the snapshots are stored. The snapshots are stored in a secure, durable, and highly available manner within the S3 infrastructure. AWS manages the storage and replication of your snapshots to ensure data durability and availability. You can view the list of your EBS snapshots in the AWS Management Console, but you cannot directly access the S3 bucket or location where they are stored. AWS manages the storage and retrieval of your snapshots on your behalf. If you need to restore an EBS volume from a snapsho...

Pros and cons of On-Demand, Reserved, Spot and Saving Plans EC2 instances

The pros and cons of the on-demand pricing model for EC2 instances are: Pros: Flexibility: On-demand instances allow you to scale your compute resources up or down as needed, without any long-term commitments. No upfront costs: With on-demand, you only pay for the compute capacity you use, without any upfront payments or long-term contracts. Suitable for unpredictable workloads: On-demand is well-suited for applications with short-term, spiky, or unpredictable workloads that cannot be interrupted. Ideal for development and testing: On-demand instances are a good choice for workloads like pre-production environments, experiments, and proofs of concept. Cons: Higher costs for long-term, steady-state workloads: Compared to other pricing models like Reserved Instances or Savings Plans, on-demand instances can be more expensive for long-term, steady-state workloads. No long-term discounts: On-demand instances do not offer any long-term discounts or commitments, unlike Reserved Instances...

What factors matter for EC2 charges and pricing model

The cost difference between EC2 instances can vary based on several factors, such as: Instance Type: Different EC2 instance types (e.g., T3, M6i, R5) have different pricing based on their CPU, memory, storage, and networking capabilities. Operating System: The cost can differ between Linux and Windows instances, as Windows instances typically have an additional charge for the Windows license. Pricing Model: AWS offers different pricing models for EC2 instances, including On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and Spot Instances. Each model has its own pricing structure and potential cost savings. Region: The cost of EC2 instances can vary depending on the AWS Region where the instance is launched. Additional Services: The cost can also be affected by the use of additional services, such as Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes, Elastic IP addresses, or data transfer. The main pricing models for Amazon EC2 instances are : On-Demand Instances: This is the pay-as-you-go model where...

Key features of EC2 instance types (Families M, T, A, C, Hpc, R, X, U, I, D, P, G)

The key features of general-purpose EC2 instances are: Balanced compute, memory, and networking resources: General purpose instances are designed to provide a balance of computing, memory, and networking resources. They are suitable for applications that require these resources in equal proportions, such as web servers and code repositories. Burstable performance: The T instance family, also known as burstable performance instances, provides a baseline CPU performance that can burst above the baseline when needed. These instances suit workloads that don't require sustained high CPU performance. Flexibility in instance size: Each instance type includes one or more instance sizes, allowing you to scale your resources to the requirements of your target workload. Support for multiple network interfaces: EC2 instances support multiple network interfaces, enabling management and data plane isolation at the network level. Placement group control: EC2 offers placement groups, which provide...

Performance characteristics of EC2 instance types

The performance characteristics of EC2 instance types can be summarized as follows: General Purpose Instances: Provide a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources. Suitable for applications that require these resources in equal proportions, such as web servers and code repositories. Examples include the T, M, and A instance families. Burstable Performance Instances: Also known as the T instance family. Provide a baseline CPU performance with the ability to burst above the baseline when needed. Suitable for workloads that don't require sustained high CPU performance. Compute Optimized Instances: Designed for compute-intensive applications that benefit from high-performance processors. Ideal for batch processing, media transcoding, high-performance web servers, high-performance computing (HPC), and machine learning inference. Examples include the C and Hpc instance families. Memory Optimized Instances: Designed to deliver fast performance for workloads that process large d...

IOPS types and its differences

Overview of IOPS (Input/Output Operations per Second): IOPS Basics: IOPS is a measure of the number of read or write operations that a storage volume can perform per second. IOPS performance can vary depending on the storage volume type and size. Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) IOPS: Amazon EBS volumes come in different types, such as General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3) and Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1/io2). General Purpose SSD volumes have a baseline IOPS that scales with the volume size, up to 16,000 IOPS, and can also burst above the baseline when needed. Provisioned IOPS SSD volumes allow you to provision the IOPS performance you need, up to 64,000 IOPS per volume. Monitoring and Troubleshooting IOPS: You can use Amazon CloudWatch metrics to monitor the IOPS and throughput of your EBS volumes. To calculate the maximum IOPS and throughput for an EBS volume, you can use the following AWS CLI command: aws ec2 describe-instance-types --instance-types m6i.2xlarge --query InstanceTypes[*].[Insta...

How the Amazon S3 data transfer charges work

Here's how the Amazon S3 charges work: Storage Charges: You are charged based on the amount of data stored in your S3 buckets, measured in gigabytes (GB) per month. The storage charges vary depending on the S3 storage class you use (e.g., S3 Standard, S3 Glacier, S3 Intelligent-Tiering). Request Charges: You are charged for the number and type of requests made to your S3 buckets, such as GET, PUT, COPY, POST, LIST, and DELETE requests. The request charges vary based on the request type and the number of requests made. Data Transfer Charges: You are charged for the amount of data transferred out of the S3 region, measured in gigabytes (GB). Data transferred between S3 buckets or from S3 to other AWS services within the same AWS Region is free. Management and Replication Charges: You may be charged for enabling certain S3 management features, such as S3 Inventory, S3 Analytics, and S3 Object Tagging. If you enable cross-region replication, you may incur additional charges for the  re...

On which AWS region I can store my S3 data

When deciding which AWS Region to store your data in, there are several key factors to consider: Proximity to Users: Choose a Region that is geographically close to your users or customers to minimize data access latency and improve application performance. Regulatory and Compliance Requirements: Certain industries or regions may have specific data residency, sovereignty, or compliance requirements that dictate which AWS Region you must use. Availability of Services: Ensure that the AWS services and features you require are available in the selected Region. Disaster Recovery and Redundancy: For critical workloads, you may want to consider storing data in multiple Regions for geographic redundancy and disaster recovery purposes. Pricing and Costs: Regions may have different pricing for AWS services, so you should evaluate the costs associated with storing and accessing your data in different Regions. To choose an AWS Region, you can: Use the AWS Management Console to view the availa...

Key points of S3 Express One-Zone

S3 Express One Zone is a new Amazon S3 storage class that provides high-performance, single-digit millisecond data access for frequently accessed data and latency-sensitive applications. Here are the key points about S3 Express One Zone: Single Availability Zone Storage: S3 Express One Zone stores data in a single Availability Zone within an AWS Region, providing the fastest possible access speeds. This allows you to co-locate your object storage with your compute resources for even lower latency. Optimized for Latency-Sensitive Workloads: S3 Express One Zone is designed for use cases like business intelligence, financial risk monitoring, and sensor data processing requiring fast access. It can provide up to 2.1x faster query performance compared to S3 Standard when used with Amazon Athena. Accessing S3 Express One Zone: You can access S3 Express One Zone through the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, AWS SDKs, and the Amazon S3 REST API. You can also use S3 Express One Zone with Amazon ...

Charges for S3 Intelligent-Tiering storagfe class

  Here are the key points about the charges for using the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class: Monthly Monitoring and Automation Charge: There is a small monthly charge for the monitoring and automatic data tiering performed by S3 Intelligent-Tiering. This charge is in addition to the standard storage costs for the different access tiers (Frequent Access, Infrequent Access, Archive Access). No Retrieval Charges: There are no retrieval charges when objects are moved between the access tiers within the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class. This means you don't have to worry about unexpected increases in your storage bills when access patterns change. Minimum Storage Duration: There is no minimum storage duration charge for the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class. However, other S3 storage classes like S3 Standard-IA and S3 Glacier have minimum storage duration charges. Pricing Details: For the most up-to-date information on pricing, limits, availability, and other details, please r...

How to get data into the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class

  There are two main ways to get data into the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class: Direct PUT operation: When uploading an object to S3, you can specify the  INTELLIGENT_TIERING  storage class in the  x-amz-storage-class  header. Example CLI command: aws s3 cp local_file.txt s3://my-bucket/my-object.txt --storage-class INTELLIGENT_TIERING Lifecycle policy transition: You can create a lifecycle policy to automatically transition objects from the S3 Standard or S3 Standard-IA storage classes to the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class. This can be done using the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or AWS SDK. Example lifecycle policy configuration: { "Rules": [ { "Status": "Enabled", "Transitions": [ { "StorageClass": "INTELLIGENT_TIERING", "TransitionInDays": 30 } ] } ] }

How the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class works

  Here's how the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class works: Automatic Tiering: S3 Intelligent Tiering automatically monitors access patterns and moves data between three access tiers - Frequent Access, Infrequent Access, and Archive Access - to optimize storage costs. There is a small monthly monitoring and automation charge for using this storage class. Access Tiers: Frequent Access Tier: Designed for frequently accessed data, providing low-latency and high-throughput performance. Infrequent Access Tier: Designed for infrequently accessed data, with lower storage costs. Archive Access Tier (optional): Designed for rarely accessed data, with the lowest storage costs but higher retrieval costs. Automatic Archiving: You can optionally activate the Archive Access tier, which will automatically archive objects that have not been accessed for a minimum of 90 consecutive days (up to a maximum of 730 days). Archived objects can be restored within 3-5 hours using standard retrieval, or wi...

S3 storage class and price differences

  Amazon S3 offers several storage classes to cater to different data access, resiliency, and cost requirements: S3 Standard : Designed for frequently accessed data, providing high durability, availability, and performance. S3 Intelligent-Tiering : Automatically moves data between access tiers based on changing access patterns, optimizing for cost. S3 Standard-IA (Infrequent Access) : Designed for infrequently accessed data, with lower storage costs but higher retrieval costs. S3 One Zone-IA : Similar to S3 Standard-IA, but data is stored in a single Availability Zone, with lower storage costs. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval : Designed for long-term data archiving, with the ability to retrieve data within a few minutes to a few hours. S3 Glacier Deep Archive : Designed for long-term data archiving, with the ability to retrieve data within 12-48 hours, at the lowest cost. The choice of storage class depends on factors such as data access patterns, durability requirements, and cost op...