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Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the leading provider of cloud computing services and hosting solutions. Among the vast number of services offered by AWS, the Simple Storage Service (S3) is one of the mostly widely used. This storage service offers high reliability, durability, scalability, and availability when compared to any other storage service.

In this course, you’ll learn about AWS S3 and its features in detail. Not only will you learn how AWS S3 works, you’ll also get hands-on experience with AWS’ security features and how to monitor and manage an AWS-hosted storage solution. By the end of this course, you will be able to use the console and command-line interface (CLI) to perform complex operations and host a static website using S3.

A Programmer’s Guide to AWS S3

Each object uploaded to an S3 bucket belongs to one of the storage classes. Different storage classes have different properties and pricing. The choice for the storage class depends on the performance and access requirements.


If the storage class isn’t specified during object creation, the object will belong to the S3 Standard storage class by default.


## Storage classes

### For frequent access

#### S3 Standard

- Whenever data stored in an S3 bucket is very frequently accessed, and the access operation must be with low latency and high throughput, the best option is to choose **S3 Standard.** Using this, data can be frequently accessed by cloud applications, web applications, data analytics applications, and so on. It’s important to note that the access operation must be with low latency and high throughput.

- S3 Standard is the default storage class and is most widely used for frequently accessed data. It also guarantees high availability and durability since data is replicated across three availability zones.
- AWS recommends using S3 Standard over Reduced Redundancy because it’s more cost-effective.

#### Reduced Redundancy

- The **Reduced Redundancy** storage class is recommended for less critical data, which can be reproduced even in the case of failure.


### For unknown access patterns

#### S3 Intelligent-Tiering

- Whenever access patterns for data stored in an S3 bucket are unknown, it’s better to use **S3 Intelligent-Tiering** while optimizing the storage costs. This avoids operational and performance impact overhead. 

- This storage class tracks the object access patterns. If the objects aren’t accessed for 30 consecutive days, it moves them to the Standard Infrequent-Access storage class. However, as soon as a `GET` request is made, the storage class is switched back to Standard Frequent Access.

- Archival tiers can also be selected in case data isn’t accessed for more than 90 days.

- This helps optimize the costs of data storage for large data whose access patterns are unknown.

### For infrequent access

#### S3 Standard-IA

- When data stored has to be less frequently accessed, **S3 Standard-IA** is the preferable storage class. It offers high durability, low latency, and high throughput. It’s similar to S3 Standard with low storage and retrieval costs, making it highly cost-effective.

- Data is replicated across multiple availability zones, which makes said data highly available in case of any failure.

#### S3 One Zone-IA

- In **S3 One Zone-IA** data is stored in only one availability zone as compared to Standard-IA, where it’s replicated across three availability zones. This also makes One Zone-IA 20% more cost-effective than Standard-IA.

- One Zone-IA also offers high durability, low latency, and high throughput. It’s well suited for long-lived, noncritical data, such as copies of data backups, re-creatable data stores, and so on.
   

### For archival purposes

#### S3 Glacier

- The S3 Glacier storage class is used for archiving data where data retrieval needs to happen in a few minutes.

- The data needs to be stored for a minimum of 90 days. Otherwise, AWS charges for 90 days even if it’s deleted or moved before 90 days.

#### S3 Glacier Deep Archive

- The **S3 Glacier Deep Archive** storage class is well suited for archiving data where data is seldom accessed and retrieval time can be up to 12 hours by default.

- The data needs to be stored for a minimum of 180 days. Otherwise, AWS charges for 180 days even if it’s deleted or moved before 180 days.

- This storage class is one of the cheapest storage options in the AWS cloud.


# Storage classes

## For frequent access

### S3 Standard

- Whenever data stored in an S3 bucket is very frequently accessed, and the access operation must be with low latency and high throughput, the best option is to choose **S3 Standard.** Using this, data can be frequently accessed by cloud applications, web applications, data analytics applications, and so on. It’s important to note that the access operation must be with low latency and high throughput.

- S3 Standard is the default storage class and is most widely used for frequently accessed data. It also guarantees high availability and durability since data is replicated across three availability zones.
- AWS recommends using S3 Standard over Reduced Redundancy because it’s more cost-effective.

### Reduced Redundancy

- The **Reduced Redundancy** storage class is recommended for less critical data, which can be reproduced even in the case of failure.


## For unknown access patterns

### S3 Intelligent-Tiering

- Whenever access patterns for data stored in an S3 bucket are unknown, it’s better to use **S3 Intelligent-Tiering** while optimizing the storage costs. This avoids operational and performance impact overhead. 

- This storage class tracks the object access patterns. If the objects aren’t accessed for 30 consecutive days, it moves them to the Standard Infrequent-Access storage class. However, as soon as a `GET` request is made, the storage class is switched back to Standard Frequent Access.

- Archival tiers can also be selected in case data isn’t accessed for more than 90 days.

- This helps optimize the costs of data storage for large data whose access patterns are unknown.

## For infrequent access

### S3 Standard-IA

- When data stored has to be less frequently accessed, **S3 Standard-IA** is the preferable storage class. It offers high durability, low latency, and high throughput. It’s similar to S3 Standard with low storage and retrieval costs, making it highly cost-effective.

- Data is replicated across multiple availability zones, which makes said data highly available in case of any failure.

### S3 One Zone-IA

- In **S3 One Zone-IA** data is stored in only one availability zone as compared to Standard-IA, where it’s replicated across three availability zones. This also makes One Zone-IA 20% more cost-effective than Standard-IA.

- One Zone-IA also offers high durability, low latency, and high throughput. It’s well suited for long-lived, noncritical data, such as copies of data backups, re-creatable data stores, and so on.
   

## For archival purposes

### S3 Glacier

- The S3 Glacier storage class is used for archiving data where data retrieval needs to happen in a few minutes.

- The data needs to be stored for a minimum of 90 days. Otherwise, AWS charges for 90 days even if it’s deleted or moved before 90 days.

### S3 Glacier Deep Archive

- The **S3 Glacier Deep Archive** storage class is well suited for archiving data where data is seldom accessed and retrieval time can be up to 12 hours by default.

- The data needs to be stored for a minimum of 180 days. Otherwise, AWS charges for 180 days even if it’s deleted or moved before 180 days.

- This storage class is one of the cheapest storage options in the AWS cloud.

Learn about different storage classes and their classifications based on object access.

Introduction

Get Started with S3

Work with S3

Create an S3 Bucket

Static Web Hosting Using S3

Host a Static Website on S3

Manage and Monitor S3

Manage and Monitor S3

Appendix

Conclusion

Different Storage Classes in S3

Storage classes

For frequent access

S3 Standard