AWS Databases & Storage Flashcards
What is the purpose of an instance store in Amazon EC2?
An instance store provides temporary block-level storage for an EC2 instance, but the data is lost when the instance is terminated.
What happens to the data on an attached instance store when an EC2 instance is stopped or terminated?
All data on the attached instance store is deleted.
How does Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) differ from an instance store?
EBS provides block-level storage volumes that persist even when an EC2 instance is stopped or terminated, while an instance store provides temporary storage that is tied to the lifespan of the instance.
How can you back up data stored in EBS volumes?
You can create EBS snapshots, which are incremental backups capturing only the changed blocks of data since the most recent snapshot.
What is the difference between incremental backups and full backups in relation to EBS snapshots?
Incremental backups only capture the changed blocks of data since the most recent snapshot, while full backups copy all the data in the volume each time a backup occurs.
What happens to the data on an EBS volume when an EC2 instance is stopped or terminated?
The data on the attached EBS volume remains available and persists even when the instance is stopped or terminated.
What should be done to ensure the persistence of data stored in EBS volumes?
It is important to back up the data by creating EBS snapshots.
How are instance store and EBS volumes different in terms of data persistence?
Instance store data is temporary and tied to the lifespan of the instance, while data on EBS volumes persists even when the instance is stopped or terminated.
What is an instance store?
An instance store is a temporary block-level storage volume that is attached to an Amazon EC2 instance.
Instance stores are physically attached to the host computer for an EC2 instance, and therefore have the same lifespan as the instance.
When the instance is terminated, you lose any data in the instance store.
What are the benefits of using instance stores?
Instance stores are fast and can provide high throughput.
Instance stores are easy to use and can be provisioned quickly.
What are the benefits of using instance stores?
Instance stores are fast and can provide high throughput.
Instance stores are easy to use and can be provisioned quickly.
What are the limitations of using instance stores?
Instance store data is not persistent.
Instance store capacity is limited.
What is Amazon EBS?
Amazon EBS is a service that provides block-level storage volumes that you can use with Amazon EC2 instances.
EBS volumes are persistent, so your data is not lost if you stop or terminate an Amazon EC2 instance.
EBS volumes are available in a variety of sizes and types, so you can choose the right one for your needs.
What are the benefits of using Amazon EBS?
EBS volumes are persistent.
EBS volumes are available in a variety of sizes and types.
EBS volumes are highly reliable
What are the limitations of using Amazon EBS?
EBS volumes can be more expensive than instance stores.
EBS volumes can take longer to provision than instance stores.
What is an EBS snapshot?
An EBS snapshot is an incremental backup of an EBS volume.
Incremental backups only copy the blocks of data that have changed since the most recent snapshot.
EBS snapshots can be used to restore an EBS volume to a previous point in time.
What are the benefits of using EBS snapshots?
EBS snapshots can be used to protect your data from accidental deletion or corruption.
EBS snapshots can be used to restore an EBS volume to a previous point in time.
What are the limitations of using EBS snapshots?
EBS snapshots can take up storage space.
EBS snapshots can be slow to create
What are the best practices for using instance stores and EBS?
Use instance stores for temporary data that does not need to be persistent.
Use EBS for data that needs to be persistent, such as databases, application logs, and user files.
Optimize your EBS volumes for your specific workload. For example, if you are running a database, you might want to use a provisioned IOPS volume.
Back up your EBS volumes regularly.
Use EBS snapshots to protect your data from accidental deletion or corruption.
When should I use instance stores and when should I use EBS?
Use instance stores when you need temporary storage that is fast and easy to use.
Use EBS when you need persistent storage that is reliable and scalable.
If you are not sure whether to use instance stores or EBS, you can start with instance stores and then switch to EBS if you need more storage or if your data needs to be persistent.
How do I manage the costs of using instance stores and EBS?
Monitor your usage of instance stores and EBS to make sure that you are not overpaying.
Use the right size EBS volumes for your needs.
Use EBS snapshots to reduce the amount of storage space that you need.
Delete EBS volumes that you no longer need
What is Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 is a service that provides object-level storage.
Amazon S3 stores data as objects in buckets.
You can upload any type of file to Amazon S3, such as images, videos, text files, and so on.
Amazon S3 offers unlimited storage space.
The maximum file size for an object in Amazon S3 is 5 TB.
What are the limitations of using instance stores?
Instance store data is not persistent.
Instance store capacity is limited.
Amazon S3 Storage Classes
Amazon S3 Standard
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA)
Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Amazon S3 Standard
Designed for frequently accessed data
Stores data in a minimum of three Availability Zones
Provides high availability for objects
Has a higher cost than other storage classes intended for infrequently accessed data and archival storage
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
Ideal for infrequently accessed data
Similar to Amazon S3 Standard but has a lower storage price and higher retrieval price
Provides the same level of availability as Amazon S3 Standard but with a lower storage price and a higher retrieval price
Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA)
Stores data in a single Availability Zone
Has a lower storage price than Amazon S3 Standard-IA
Makes it a good storage class to consider if the following conditions apply:
You want to save costs on storage.
You can easily reproduce your data in the event of an Availability Zone failure.
Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Ideal for data with unknown or changing access patterns
Requires a small monthly monitoring and automation fee per object
In the Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class, Amazon S3 monitors objects’ access patterns.
If you haven’t accessed an object for 30 consecutive days, Amazon S3 automatically moves it to the infrequent access tier, Amazon S3 Standard-IA.
If you access an object in the infrequent access tier, Amazon S3 automatically moves it to the frequent access tier, Amazon S3 Standard
Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval
Works well for archived data that requires immediate access
Can retrieve objects within a few milliseconds
When you decide between the options for archival storage, consider how quickly you must retrieve the archived objects.
You can retrieve objects stored in the Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval storage class within milliseconds, with the same performance as Amazon S3 Standard.
Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
Low-cost storage designed for data archiving
Able to retrieve objects within a few minutes to hours
Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval is a low-cost storage class that is ideal for data archiving.
For example, you might use this storage class to store archived customer records or older photos and video files.
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Lowest-cost object storage class ideal for archiving
Able to retrieve objects within 12 hours
Amazon S3 Deep Archive supports long-term retention and digital preservation for data that might be accessed once or twice in a year.
This storage class is the lowest-cost storage in the AWS Cloud, with data retrieval from 12 to 48 hours.
All objects from this storage class are replicated and stored across at least three geographically dispersed Availability Zones
Amazon S3 Outposts
Creates S3 buckets on Amazon S3 Outposts
Makes it easier to retrieve, store, and access data on AWS Outposts
Amazon S3 Outposts delivers object storage to your on-premises AWS Outposts environment.
Amazon S3 Outposts is designed to store data durably and redundantly across multiple devices and servers on your Outposts.
It works well for workloads with local data residency requirements that must satisfy demanding performance needs by keeping data close to on-premises applications.
What are the different types of objects that can be stored in Amazon S3?
Any type of file can be stored in Amazon S3, such as images, videos, text files, and so on.
Amazon S3 also supports storing objects that are larger than 5 TB.
Amazon S3 objects can be stored in a variety of formats, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, PDF, and CSV.
What are the different ways to access Amazon S3 objects?
You can access Amazon S3 objects using the AWS Management Console, the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), or the AWS SDKs.
You can also access Amazon S3 objects using the REST API.
Amazon S3 also supports access to objects using the Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration service.
How do I use Amazon S3 with other AWS services?
Amazon S3 can be used with a variety of other AWS services, such as:
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Amazon S3 can also be used with third-party services, such as:
Heroku
MongoDB
WordPress
What are the best practices for using Amazon S3?
Use the right storage class for your data.
Encrypt your data.
Use versioning to protect your data from accidental deletion or corruption.
Use lifecycle policies to automatically move your data to different storage classes as it ages.
Use access control lists (ACLs) to control who can access your data.
Monitor your usage to make sure that you are not overpaying.
What are the most common mistakes that people make when using Amazon S3?
Not using the right storage class.
Not encrypting their data.
Not using versioning.
Not using lifecycle policies.
Not using access control lists (ACLs).
Not monitoring their usage.
What is the storage class of Amazon Elastic Block Storage (EBS)?
Amazon Elastic Block Storage is a block storage service.
What is the storage class of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)?
Individual objects in S3 can have a size of up to 5,000 gigabytes.
Which storage class is suitable for a photo analysis website with millions of animal pictures that need to be indexed and viewed by many users?
S3 is the suitable storage class for this use case due to its web-enabled nature, URL accessibility, regional distribution, and high durability.
Amazon Elastic Block Storage (EBS)
Storage class: Block storage
Maximum size: 16 tebibytes
Survives EC2 instance termination: Yes
Storage media: SSDs or spinning platters
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
Storage class: Object storage
Maximum size of individual objects: 5,000 gigabytes
Durability: 99.999999999 percent
Suitable for photo analysis website: S3
Other features of EBS
Performance: EBS volumes can provide high throughput and low latency, making them suitable for applications that require high performance, such as databases and web servers.
Availability: EBS volumes are highly available and durable, with a 99.999% availability SLA.
Security: EBS volumes are encrypted at rest and in transit, providing secure storage for your data.
Other features of S3
Scalability: S3 is highly scalable, and you can easily add or remove storage as needed.
Global availability: S3 is available in all AWS regions, so you can store your data close to your users.
Cost-effectiveness: S3 is a cost-effective storage solution, with a variety of pricing options to fit your budget.
What is Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)?
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed file storage service that makes it easy to deploy and scale file systems for use with Amazon EC2 instances and other AWS services.
What are the benefits of using EFS?
EFS offers a number of benefits, including:
Scalability: EFS can scale automatically to petabytes without disrupting applications.
Durability: EFS data is replicated across multiple Availability Zones for high availability and durability.
Performance: EFS provides high throughput and low latency for file-based workloads.
Security: EFS is encrypted at rest and in transit, and you can control access to your file systems using IAM policies.
What are the use cases for EFS?
EFS is a good choice for a variety of use cases, including:
Content management systems
Media streaming
Big data analytics
Machine learning
DevOps
What are the differences between EFS and EBS?
EBS and EFS are both file storage services, but they have some key differences:
Storage location: EBS volumes are stored in a single Availability Zone, while EFS is a regional service that stores data in multiple Availability Zones.
Scalability: EBS volumes can be scaled up or down, but EFS automatically scales to meet demand.
Performance: EBS volumes can provide higher throughput and lower latency than EFS, but EFS is more cost-effective for large file systems.
Use cases: EBS is a good choice for applications that require high performance, while EFS is a good choice for applications that need to scale to large sizes.
What are the different types of EFS file systems?
There are two types of EFS file systems:
Standard file systems: Standard file systems are designed for general-purpose use cases. They are scalable, durable, and secure.
Provisioned throughput file systems: Provisioned throughput file systems are designed for applications that require high throughput and low latency. They are more expensive than standard file systems, but they can provide better performance.
