Introduction To AWS S3

In this article, we will be covering the below topics,

• Introduction to AWS S3
• Types of Storage in S3
• Lifecycle policies in S3
• Creating S3 bucket using GUI

INTRODUCTION TO AWS S3

 

It is used to store and retrieve any amount of data at any point in time from anywhere in the world.

 

Amazon S3 service gives anyone access to the very high scalable, fast and reliable data storage infra which Amazon also uses it to run their own global n/w of websites.

 

Here we create a bucket and then we start storing data inside our buckets.

 

 

The data that we store in buckets are called Objects.

 

 

So we can understand the creation process as per the diagram depicted above.

 

If we create an EC2 instance and the S3 bucket in the same region, then the data retrieval will be very fast.

 

If both the EC2 instance and S3 buckets are in different regions then there will be a little more latency but still, the objects will be accessible.

 

 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STORAGE IN S3

 

There are different types of storage in S3 which we can select based on the cost and our requirements.

 

 

S3 standard is the default storage type and Amazon glacier will be very cheap as it is for long-term archive.

 

NOTE

In S3 our data gets replicated in multiple zones automatically and we don’t get to choose our availability zone, though we can choose the region where we want to create the S3 bucket.

 

Apart from that, we can also automatically move our data from one storage type to other depending on the no of days or usage.

 

After the day is passed, AWS will automatically switch the storage type.

 

 

CREATING BUCKETS IN S3 USING UI

 

Login to AWS management console and search for S3 and click on S3 Scalable Storage in the Cloud option.

 

 

As I don’t have any buckets created already, so just click on Create Bucket.

 

 

The bucket will be created in the region and based on the bucket name and will be given an endpoint same as ELB as they come with the endpoint.

 

So, this means that our bucket name has to be unique in the region.

 

See here I have used the most common name test123 and it exists not in my account, but it could exist in someone else’s account.

 

 

Now let’s give a unique name to our bucket.

 

 

We can also add tags, enable encryption or versioning, and a couple of other options as well, but they may incur additional costs.

 

By default, S3 blocks all public access.

 

But for now, I am going with the default options and click Create Bucket.

 

 

And we have our bucket created successfully.

 

Now, as our bucket is created so let’s upload something to it.

 

 

I have uploaded one dummy pdf document and we can see there is an object URL.

 

 

Every object will have an endpoint in S3.

 

When I tried to access the Object URL, I got access denied as this object is not public.

 

 

And when I tried to go to the permissions and edit them, I saw the public access option as disabled because we have not set the public permissions while creating the bucket.

 

 

So, I went to the bucket permissions and edit the public access settings.

 

 

And now we can see the option of Make public against our object.

 

 

And once it is made public, we are able to access the dummy pdf object using the Object URL successfully.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

So, in this article, we have learned what is S3, what is the purpose of using it, different storage types, lifecycle policies, and how we can actually create a bucket using the graphical user interface. In the coming article, we will see how we can actually host a static website using S3.

 

I hope you find this article helpful. Stay tuned for more … Cheers!!