Storage extras

Memory hook: Choose the application's storage protocol first, then decide whether you need persistent access, hybrid access or data movement.

Must remember

Separate block, file and object needs

• EBS supplies block volumes with AZ placement constraints. An application normally creates a filesystem on the volume; it is not automatically a shared network filesystem.
• EFS supplies shared NFS access for Linux/POSIX workloads. Choose its availability and throughput configuration deliberately; “shared” does not mean every file-storage protocol is supported.
• S3 supplies an object API. Object keys are not ordinary disk blocks or a full POSIX filesystem. An application needing native file locking or SMB semantics usually needs another access layer.
• FSx is a family of managed specialized filesystems. Choose the correct family rather than treating every FSx option as interchangeable. AWS storage overview

Recognize the FSx families by their strongest clue

• FSx for Windows File Server: Windows SMB shares, NTFS permissions and Active Directory integration. This fits Windows home directories and applications that depend on Windows file-server behavior; EFS is not a drop-in replacement.
• FSx for Lustre: parallel high-throughput file access for HPC, analytics and machine learning. Link S3 datasets to a fast computation tier; understand scratch versus persistent deployment requirements rather than assuming every filesystem copy is your durable source.
• FSx for NetApp ONTAP: NetApp features and multiprotocol access, including NFS, SMB and iSCSI. Familiar snapshots, cloning, efficiency and migration capabilities matter when preserving an existing NetApp environment.
• FSx for OpenZFS: managed ZFS-oriented file workloads over NFS, with snapshots and cloning. The cue is ZFS compatibility and NFS behavior, not Windows SMB integration. Windows file-server features
• Across all four, check performance capacity, network placement, backup/restore and availability options separately. A fast scratch filesystem and a highly available production file store answer different questions.

Match a gateway to the on-premises interface

AWS Storage Gateway connects local applications to cloud storage while preserving a file, block or tape interface.

• S3 File Gateway exposes NFS/SMB file shares backed by S3 objects, with local caching. It is useful when an existing file-based workflow must use object storage without rewriting every client.
• Volume Gateway exposes iSCSI block volumes. Cached volumes keep primary data in AWS and cache frequently accessed data locally; stored volumes keep the full dataset locally and back it up to AWS.
• Tape Gateway presents a virtual tape library to existing backup software. It preserves the tape workflow while moving storage/archival responsibilities into AWS.
• A gateway provides an ongoing hybrid interface. It is not simply a one-time copying tool, and caching does not make network outages irrelevant.
• FSx File Gateway is no longer available to new customers. Do not confuse that restricted product with S3 File Gateway or FSx for Windows, which are separate services. Availability record

Distinguish transfer clients from migration jobs

• Transfer Family provides managed file-transfer capabilities such as SFTP, FTPS, FTP and AS2, with storage integration appropriate to the endpoint type. Use it when partners already speak a transfer protocol; it does not require them to adopt the S3 API.
• DataSync automates supported storage transfers, with task configuration, verification, scheduling and bandwidth controls. It is a strong fit for migrations and recurring synchronization rather than a general partner-facing SFTP login service. Agent requirements depend on the source/destination design. Transfer Family, DataSync
• Snow Family is the historical physical/offline transfer and edge-compute pattern: compare dataset size and available bandwidth before assuming a network transfer is feasible. Snowball Edge is closed to new customers; existing customers have separate availability and support timelines. This pack creates no physical jobs. Learn the architectural clue without assuming a new account can order devices. Product-specific availability notice
• Compare total cost: idle server/filesystem capacity, gateway infrastructure, transfer volume, requests and cross-AZ/Region traffic. “Managed” removes some operations work, not every charge.

Choose under exam pressure

Traps

• A protocol-compatible service can still have different availability, performance and feature limits.
• File Gateway, Volume Gateway and Tape Gateway preserve different client interfaces.
• A transfer endpoint moves or exposes data; it does not decide the authoritative storage and recovery strategy.
• EFS is not a universal Windows file share, and S3 is not a disk volume.

Active recall

Terraform anchor: Separate storage resources from transfer identities, and scope bucket-level and object-level IAM actions to the correct ARN types.

Sources

• AWS storage service overview
• Snowball Edge availability change
• Volume Gateway architecture
• DataSync concepts
• Transfer Family concepts