In this AWS article, we will discuss What Is AWS Storage Gateway, and along with that, we will also discuss a few other topics like AWS Storage Gateway Types, Benefits Of AWS Storage Gateway, AWS Storage Gateway VS S3, AWS Datasync VS Storage Gateway, AWS Storage Gateway Pricing, etc.
What Is AWS Storage Gateway? AWS Storage Gateway is an excellent service that provides you the opportunity to connect your organization’s on-premises IT environment with AWS cloud storage infrastructure.
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What Is AWS Storage Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway is an excellent service that helps you to connect your organization’s on-premises IT environment with AWS cloud storage infrastructure and the integration is very much secure, highly scalable, and cost-efficient.
AWS Storage Gateway Tutorial
AWS Storage Gateway helps you to store your data in AWS with high security, scalability, etc.
While you are uploading the data from on-premises to the cloud, AWS Storage Gateway uses different data encryption techniques with SSL, etc.
AWS Storage Gateway can be deployed as VMware ESXi virtual machine (VM) or Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine or Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor on your on-premises environment.
AWS Storage Gateway Types
There are three types of AWS Storage Gateway and those are as below
- File Gateway
- Tape Gateway
- Volume Gateway
File Gateway
The File Gateway again divided into two categories and those are Amazon S3 File Gateway and Amazon FSx File Gateway.
Amazon S3 File Gateway
Amazon S3 File Gateway helps you to store and retrieve different objects using Server Message Block (SMB) and Network File System (NFS). Network File System (NFS) is one of the excellent industry-standard file protocols.
It helps you to store different files like Pdf files, word files, Video files, Pictures, etc directly on Amazon S3.
You can deploy it as a VMware ESXi virtual machine (VM) or Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine on your on-premises environment.
Amazon FSx File Gateway
Amazon FSx File Gateway is another category of File Gateway that helps you to easily access in-cloud Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file shares from your on-premises environment with low latency.
One of the Best file storage option in terms of bandwidth and latency for fully managed and virtually unlimited windows file shares.
Tape Gateway
The purpose of the AWS Tape gateway is to take backups.
If you want a secure, cost-effective, durable solution to archive your data in AWS cloud, then tape gateway is a choice there to fulfill your aim.
You can run it as hardware or VM or an Amazon EC2 instance.
Another interesting feature is, Tape Gateway provides a virtual tape infrastructure that helps your organization to reduce the cost and burden of maintaining a physical tape infrastructure to store your data.
Volume Gateway
Volume Gateway helps you to provide a cloud storage volume is based on Iscsi block protocol and is a block storage can be used to store different applications, databases and operating systems.
You can deploy it as a VMware ESXi virtual machine (VM) or Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine on your on-premises environment.
Basically, Volume Gateway is again divided into two categories and is Cached volumes and Stored volumes.
Cached volumes
- Cached volumes help you with the intent to use the Amazon S3 as your main or primary storage at the same time keeping your most frequently used data in your local storage gateway.
- It helps you to access your frequently used data with low latency.
- Cached volumes save a lot of cost for you.
- From 1 GB up to 32 TB size is available for the Cached volume.
Stored volumes
- Stored volumes help you with the opportunity to store your complete data as a copy locally and then you can backup your data asynchronously to AWS.
- Help you to access your complete data with low latency.
- From 1 GB up to 16 TB size is available for the Stored volume.
Benefits Of AWS Storage Gateway
There are a lot of benefits of AWS Storage Gateway. Let’s discuss here a few key benefits of AWS Storage Gateway.
Very Simple and User-Friendly
If you are very new to AWS Storage Gateway, no need to worry at all, it’s quite simple to start with AWS Storage Gateway.
In order to start with AWS Gateway, You just have to download the gateway VM software –> Assign an IP –> Activate the Gateway to associate it to AWS account.
Highly Secure and Durable
When it is your data, in that case security is must. AWS Storage Gateway makes sure that your critical data is highly secure and well encrypted with advanced encryption techniques before transferring to AWS.
Low Latency Rate
AWS Storage Gateway provides you with a low-latency disk and very good network performance for your data so that you will feel the optimization with respect to transferring the data to AWS.
Scalability
It is highly scalable in nature. Based on your requirement you can get the cloud storage and billed based on that. If you want to extend your backup and achieve storage without any upfront costs. Even you no need to use any new hardware if you need to increase the storage capacity.
Supports Hybrid cloud storage
You can able access your data from on-premises and then you can store it in AWS clouds easily including Amazon S3 Glacier, Amazon S3, Deep Archive, etc.
Additionally, you can able to utilize different AWS services like AWS compute, big data analytics services, machine learning, Amazon Cloud Watch, AWS IAM, etc.
AWS Storage Gateway VS S3
Well, let’s discuss here a few key differences between AWS storage gateway vs s3
| AWS Storage Gateway | AWS S3 |
| AWS Storage Gateway is a service that helps you to connect your organization’s on-premises IT environment with AWS cloud storage infrastructure and the integration is very much secure, highly scalable, and cost-efficient. | AWS S3 is a file system and is considered a network disk. |
| With the help of AWS Storage Gateway, you can read or write your data to or from AWS S3. | Helps you to securely store your data. |
| AWS Storage Gateway can help you to establish a connection between Your on-premises environment with AWS S3. | AWS S3 acts as a data repository. |
| You can consider AWS Storage Gateway as a service that helps you to upload your data to AWS S3. | You can also call the AWS S3 a storage service. |
| You can store all kinds of data or objects. |
These are a few key differences between AWS Storage Gateway and AWS S3.
AWS Datasync VS Storage Gateway
Find some key differences between AWS Datasync and AWS Storage Gateway
| AWS Datasync | AWS Storage Gateway |
| You can consider AWS Datasync as an online data transfer service. | AWS Storage Gateway can be considered as a hybrid cloud service. |
| Helps you to copy your data from different storage services via the Internet or AWS Direct Connect. | AWS Storage Gateway can help you to establish a connection between Your on-premises environment with AWS S3 to transfer your data. |
| Provides you three types of storage interfaces File, Tape, and Volume. | |
| Connects with the storage using different protocols like SMB, NFS, or the API that is provided by Amazon S3. | You can get different storage protocols and those are NFS, iSCSI, SMB, etc. |
| You need to pay based on storage, data transfer rates, and your standard requests to read/write data to/from AWS. | You need to pay based on the request, storage type, storage amount, and finally, the data transferred amount outside of AWS. |
These are the key differences between AWS Datasync and AWS Storage Gateway.
AWS Storage Gateway Pricing
AWS Storage Gateway Pricing model is based on pay only what you use and the below factors.
- The request you make
- Storage type you are using
- Storage amount you are using
- how much amount of data you are transferring outside AWS.
Pricing For File Gateway
Pricing For Storage
| Pricing for storage | Like Amazon S3 objects it is getting stored and billed accordingly. |
Pricing For Requests
| When your gateway is writing data to AWS | You need to pay $0.01/GB† |
Check out the complete information on AWS Storage Gateway Pricing now.
AWS Storage Gateway FAQ
Why AWS Storage Gateway?
AWS Storage Gateway helps you to use AWS cloud storage services by minimizing the use of your on-premises storage where you can save a lot of costs that you were spending on your on-premises storage.
What are the benefits of AWS Storage Gateway?
Benefits Of AWS Storage Gateway
What is the maximum size supported for local cache/gateway?
64 TiB is the maximum size supported for the local cache gateway that runs on a VM.
What is File Gateway and explain the different types of File Gateway?
Details on File Gateway and their types
What are the different protocols supported by Amazon S3 File Gateway?
It supports below protocols
- NFS (Network File System) (Version 3 & version 4.1)
- SMB (Server Message Block) (Version 2 & version 3)
Is it possible to change the name of file share?
Yes, you can.
What is the maximum number of file shares can be created per gateway?
You can create a maximum upto 10 shares/gateway.
What is Tape Gateway?
What is Volume Gateway and explain the different types of Volume Gateway?
Details on Volume Gateway and their types
What is the maximum number of snapshots per gateway?
There is no limit as of now.
What is AWS Storage Gateway Hardware Appliance?
It is standalone and physical server configuration that is required for your on-premises deployments. It has all inbuild network, CPU, memory, Software, etc for creating and configuring all types of AWS storage Gateway.
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Wrapping Up
In this article, we have discussed What Is AWS Storage Gateway, AWS Storage Gateway Types, Benefits Of AWS Storage Gateway, AWS Storage Gateway VS S3, AWS Datasync VS Storage Gateway, AWS Storage Gateway Pricing, etc. Hope you have enjoyed this article !!!