Amazon S3 Storage Classes Overview

S3 Standard - General Purpose

• Availability: 99.99%
• Use Cases: Frequently accessed data, big data analytics, mobile and gaming applications, content distribution
• Characteristics: Low latency, high throughput, can sustain 2 concurrent facility failures

S3 Infrequent Access (IA)

• Availability: 99.9%
• Use Cases: Disaster recovery, backups
• Characteristics: Lower cost than S3 Standard, retrieval cost applies

S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access

• Availability: 99.5%
• Use Cases: Secondary backups, storing replaceable data
• Characteristics: High durability within a single AZ, data lost if the AZ is destroyed

Glacier Storage Classes

1. Glacier Instant Retrieval
   • Retrieval Time: Milliseconds
   • Use Cases: Data accessed once a quarter
   • Minimum Storage Duration: 90 days
2. Glacier Flexible Retrieval
   • Retrieval Options: Expedited (1-5 mins), Standard (3-5 hrs), Bulk (5-12 hrs)
   • Minimum Storage Duration: 90 days
3. Glacier Deep Archive
   • Retrieval Options: Standard (12 hrs), Bulk (48 hrs)
   • Use Cases: Long-term storage, lowest cost
   • Minimum Storage Duration: 180 days

S3 Intelligent-Tiering

• Use Cases: Automatically moves objects based on usage patterns
• Characteristics: No retrieval charges, small monthly monitoring fee, and auto tiering fee