Storage

8 AWS Storage terms and services covered in certification exams, with exam-focused explanations.

Amazon S3

An object storage service for storing files (objects) with virtually unlimited capacity and 99.999999999% durability. Broad use cases: static site hosting, data lakes, backups. Bucket policies, Block Public Access, encryption, and lifecycle rules are frequent exam topics.

S3 ストレージクラス

Storage tiers within S3 differentiated by access frequency and cost — Standard (frequent access), Standard-IA (infrequent), Glacier variants (archival). Cost-optimization questions typically ask you to select the class that best matches a given access pattern.

Amazon EBS

Block storage attached to EC2 instances, serving as OS disks or database storage. Data persists after instance stop or termination and can be backed up via snapshots to S3. The key distinction from EFS is that EBS typically attaches to a single instance at a time.

Amazon EFS

A fully managed shared file storage (NFS) that multiple EC2 instances can mount simultaneously. Capacity scales automatically based on usage. The go-to choice for Linux workloads requiring shared file access across servers — contrasted with EBS (single-instance attach) in exam questions.

Amazon FSx

A managed file system service providing industry-standard file systems such as Windows File Server and Lustre. FSx for Windows integrates with SMB protocol and Active Directory; FSx for Lustre is designed for HPC. Appears as the option for Windows shared storage or HPC needs.

AWS Storage Gateway

A hybrid storage service that seamlessly connects on-premises environments to AWS storage (S3, etc.) via file, volume, or tape interfaces. Used in migration and backup scenarios that bridge data centers and the cloud.

AWS Backup

A centralized backup management service for multiple AWS services (EBS, RDS, DynamoDB, EFS, etc.). Define backup plans and schedules in one place. The answer for exam scenarios requiring unified backup management across an organization.

Amazon S3 Glacier

Archive storage for data accessed very rarely — low cost per GB but with retrieval delays compared to standard S3. Ideal for compliance log retention and other rarely accessed data. The correct choice in cost-optimization questions for long-term archival workloads.

Last updated: 2026-06-24

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