Storage Services Review Quiz
Test your knowledge on AWS storage services, including S3 storage classes, block storage, and file storage.
Module 4.2 Review Snapshot
So far, this module has covered three big storage ideas:
- S3 is AWS object storage. S3 Standard is for frequently accessed data, Intelligent-Tiering is for unknown access, and the Glacier classes are for archive-style storage.
- EBS is block storage for EC2 (like a local disk). EFS is shared file storage for multiple servers. FSx is for specialized file systems like Windows File Server or Lustre.
- Snow Family is about physical data transfer and edge computing when the network itself is the problem.
- Storage Gateway bridges on-premises storage with AWS cloud storage for hybrid architectures.
Tip
The Golden Rule: Use S3 for object storage, EBS for a server disk, EFS for shared Linux file storage, FSx for specialized managed file systems, Snow Family for physical transfer, and Storage Gateway for hybrid on-premises-to-cloud storage.
AWS Storage Gateway — hybrid cloud storage
AWS Storage Gateway connects your on-premises environment to AWS cloud storage. It runs as a virtual appliance (or hardware appliance) in your data center and presents familiar storage interfaces while storing data in AWS.
Three gateway types
| Gateway Type | Interface | Stores data in | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| File Gateway | NFS / SMB | Amazon S3 (as objects) | Replace or extend on-prem file shares with cloud-backed storage |
| Volume Gateway | iSCSI block storage | EBS snapshots in S3 | Block storage volumes backed by cloud snapshots for backup/DR |
| Tape Gateway | Virtual Tape Library (VTL) | S3 and S3 Glacier | Replace physical tape backup with cloud-based virtual tapes |
Key points for the exam:
- Storage Gateway is for hybrid cloud storage — bridging on-premises and AWS
- File Gateway is the most commonly tested type — think "on-prem file share backed by S3"
- Frequently accessed files are cached locally for low-latency access
- It is different from Snow Family — Snow Family is for physical data transfer; Storage Gateway is for ongoing hybrid connectivity
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery provides continuous block-level replication of your servers to AWS, enabling rapid recovery with minimal data loss during outages.
How it differs from snapshot-based backup:
| Snapshot-based Backup | Elastic Disaster Recovery | |
|---|---|---|
| Protection method | Point-in-time snapshots | Continuous block-level replication |
| Recovery Point Objective (RPO) | Hours (time since last snapshot) | Seconds (near real-time replication) |
| Recovery Time Objective (RTO) | Hours (restore from backup) | Minutes (failover to live replica) |
| Best use case | File recovery, compliance retention, archival | Business continuity, minimal downtime requirements |
| Source infrastructure | AWS resources, on-premises via Storage Gateway | On-premises servers, cloud-based servers |
Note
RPO = maximum acceptable data loss (e.g., "we can lose 5 minutes of data") RTO = maximum acceptable downtime (e.g., "we must be back online within 1 hour")
Key DRS capabilities:
- Continuous replication of block-level changes to AWS
- Automated server conversion to EC2 format during failover
- Non-disruptive disaster recovery drills to test recovery procedures
- Supports recovery to multiple target accounts (e.g., test and production)
- WAN optimization and compression during replication
- Can use Direct Connect or VPN to avoid public internet for replication traffic
When to use DRS vs snapshot-based backup:
- Use DRS when you need near-zero RPO/RTO for mission-critical applications
- Use Backup when you need point-in-time recovery for files, compliance archival, or longer RTO is acceptable
Tip
Backup and disaster recovery are complementary. Many organizations use AWS Backup for file-level recovery and compliance, and DRS for application-level disaster recovery with minimal downtime.
Knowledge Check: Module 4.2 Review
Take this quiz in a focused, distraction-free view. Hints available for each question.
Next lesson
Unit 4, Module 4.3: Databases and Data Services
Lesson 4.13: RDS and Aurora