Mastering Amazon S3: A Comprehensive Guide to Storage, Cost, and Practical Use Cases
Hi everyone! I’m Mayank Singh Kushwah, an AWS Certified professional with 6 years of experience in the IT industry.
Today We will discuss about S3 Storage. I know most of us are familiar with Amazon S3, but if you’ve come to this blog, you’re probably looking for a deeper understanding, right? So, let’s dive into S3: why to use it, how to use it, where you can use it, and in which practical scenarios it shines.
First off, let’s understand what S3 is. S3 stands for Simple Storage Service, and it’s one of the most important services in AWS. If you’re using AWS, chances are you’ll end up using S3 for something.
Many companies rely on S3, including INDmoney for storing files like reports related to stock transactions and taxes. Companies like Salesforce, Zomato, and Zepto also heavily depend on AWS, with S3 being a cornerstone of their storage solutions.
Now, let’s talk about what S3 is? S3 is object storage. What does that mean? Object storage allows you to store any type of media file such as videos, audio, log files, text files, as objects. While you can store files, it’s not the same as traditional file storage systems.
S3 Storage Classes and When to Use Them
Here’s a quick comparison of the different storage classes:
| Storage Class | Use Case | Key Features |
| S3 Standard | Frequently accessed data | High throughput, low latency |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | Unpredictable workloads, Such not aware about which file is when more Frequently or in-Frequently access. | - Automatic tiering to reduce costs. - By auto Transferring the object from one storage class to other one based on frequency of object access. |
| S3 Standard-IA | Infrequently accessed, long-lived data | Lower cost for infrequent access |
| S3 One Zone-IA | Non-critical, infrequently accessed data | Cheaper but stored in one AZ |
| S3 Glacier | Long-term archival storage | Low cost, minutes for retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | Long-term archival with minimal access | Lowest cost, hours for retrieval |
| S3 Outposts | Local storage requirements | Data stored in on-premises Outposts |
I didn’t mentioned anything in a deep about the s3 classes but if any one having any doubt they comment in blog or connect me I can try to clear you quires.
For learn more about storage Class please must read this official aws site https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes
Below of this blog I mentioned the Practical Tips and Considerations Please look into once.
Advanced Features of S3 Storage
Versioning
Enable versioning to keep multiple versions of an object. This is especially useful for backups and recovery. For example, you can recover a previous version of a file accidentally overwritten or deletion.
Lifecycle Policies
Automate data transitions between storage classes or delete objects after a specified time. Use Intelligent-Tiering when you have unpredictable usage patterns. Using this you can save the cost of you resource. For example: As you know standard s3 charge is more compare to glacier or others. So We can use Lifecycle Policies to automate the process like we can configure the value of any file is not accessed form last 1 month should move to S3 Glacier and if in S3 Glacier object not accessed more than 90 days than move to other storage and so on.
Encryption
Protect your data with server-side or client-side encryption to ensure it’s secure both at rest and in transit.
Event Notifications
Set up triggers for bucket events like object uploads to initiate actions, such as running a Lambda function.
Static Website Hosting
Host static websites using S3. Configure your bucket properties to make objects publicly accessible, and you’re good to go!
Practical Tips and Considerations
I also suggest that for learning purposes, you simulate scenarios using the AWS Pricing Calculator. Try estimating costs for different storage classes, and then ask yourself questions like: “Is this a good estimation for the particular S3 storage class I’m planning to use?”
Let me help you with an example. Imagine you’re working for a large organisation where data is extremely critical. If any data is lost—due to hardware failures, accidental deletions, or disasters—it could damage the company’s reputation and incur significant costs. Which S3 storage class should you use to ensure durability and availability?
On the other hand, consider a scenario where you use S3 Glacier. It’s low-cost for storage, but think about how long it takes to retrieve files and the retrieval costs involved. Would this meet your use case requirements?
Note: S3 is not a computing storage system. You should not use S3 in place of EBS, FSx, or EFS. If you’re performing high-frequency, high-computation operations like frequent updates or complex queries using the S3 API, it will lead to higher costs compared to using file or block storage solutions.
How to Use S3 Storage
Here’s a basic walkthrough of how to use S3 via the AWS Management Console. You can also perform all operations (create, update, delete) using tools like AWS CDK, SDK, CLI, CloudFormation, or Terraform.
If you’re into Terraform, check out this example code to create an S3 bucket with public read access: Terraform S3 Example
For more details on pricing and other features, visit the AWS S3 official site.
Steps to Create a Bucket
Open the S3 Console.
Click Create bucket.
Provide a unique bucket name and select a region.
Configure settings like bucket versioning, encryption, and public access.
Click Create bucket.
Uploading an Object
Select your bucket.
Click Upload and add your file.
Set permissions and properties as needed.
Click Upload.
Accessing Your Object
Copy the object URL from the console.
Access it directly if permissions allow.
Conclusion
Amazon S3 is more than just a storage solution; it’s a cornerstone of modern cloud infrastructure. By understanding its storage classes, features, and cost implications, you can design efficient and cost-effective storage architectures tailored to your needs. Start small with a demo, and as your requirements grow, explore advanced features like lifecycle policies, versioning, and event notifications.