Amazon Glacier is a cloud storage platform developed and launched by AWS with longer loading times. Accordingly, the developer is supposed to use Amazon Glacier to move less available data to archive storage to save storage costs.
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Developers can also move database backups to backup storage media to the cloud for long-term storage. Previously, companies paid a lot of money for data archiving. It is an important necessity within a company’s data management operations. Archiving solutions were previously available at a high cost, and companies had to determine the capacity requirement. This hampered the full functionality with several disadvantages such as unused capacity and unwanted financial expenses. Therefore, Amazon Glacier has taken this pain and brought a convenient and cheaper data backup and archiving solution. There is more to learn as you continue further in this article.
The Amazon Glacier Brought a Revolution
Amazon Glacier has changed the traditional way companies approach data archiving. With AWS Glacier, there are no upfront payment terms, and the cost per use is meagre. AWS works in the background to handle heavy operations to perform data storage needs. In addition, you gain the potential to increase or decrease the range of use. The AWS Management Console has direct options to easily create or set up an Amazon Glacier storage service. Once you do this, you will have access to upload a large amount of data of your choice.
Glacier archives contain sizes from 1 byte to 40 terabytes. In short, there is no limit to uploading data to an archive or creating multiple archives within AWS Glacier. There is a dedicated multipart recording function for high reliability and throughput of archives larger than 100 MB.AWS users can group archives into specific vaults and manage their accessibility through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Each vault can be assigned a host, and notification policies can also be implemented with it. It is solely up to the AWS administrator to implement resource-based access policies for each archive vault. Access limits can therefore be set for hosts that are allowed access to selected archives. Along with archive vaults, there is a feature called “vault lock” under which compliance can be set for each. Once a lock is initiated, Amazon Glacier implements the configurations to meet compliance standards.
Amazon Glacier Pricing Policy
Amazon Glacier has a very fine-grained pricing policy where it charges for every gigabyte of monthly storage. Uploading data to Amazon Glacier is free, while the platform only charges for download requests. It is implemented to prevent customers from depending solely on Amazon Glacier for their general data storage needs and using it only as a repository for archives filled with infrequently used data.
Use Cases of Amazon Glacier
Storage has always been a basic necessity within IT infrastructure. All businesses today need to process and store a lot of data. Therefore, people need to store data preferentially for long-term needs. There are certain requirements embedded in a particular data set. This means that some data must be readily available in most cases, while some data is not required often. Therefore, storing such data in cold storage like Glacier is a smarter option.
Source: https://aws.amazon.com
By now, you have understood the basic usability of Amazon Glacier, but here are some of the use cases that will help you understand its use with more clarity:
1. Data archiving for regulatory purposes
Businesses are faced with the need to archive data for several regulations. It is mostly required in the healthcare industry as patient data is stored in large quantities for long periods. There can be no vulnerability in storing such sensitive data. However, the cost of keeping this much data for a decade or more can be extremely high. Therefore, people turned to AWS Glacier to offer an ideal storage service to meet the requirements of such companies or industries at a low-cost strategy.
2. Replacement of magnetic tapes
Tape libraries are still used in some applications, regardless of whether they are stored locally or off-site. Therefore, these aspects of storage are costly and require maintenance over time to ensure safety and reliability. Amazon Glacier is considered one of the ideal exchange options because it is integrated as a managed service. Plus, it charges you for the space or storage you use without any upfront payments. Storage Gateway from AWS can be used to store data archives in Amazon Glacier without disrupting existing workflows.
Source: https://aws.amazon.com
3. Backup and restore for emergencies
Disaster recovery planning is quite important when working with or storing sensitive data. It is a key part of business and ensures protection during any emergency data crisis. It doesn’t matter if you run your business environment through the AWS cloud or any other hybrid cloud solution; Glacier can help you secure your data by backing it up without charging you.
Source: https://aws.amazon.com
In case you are facing a data crisis and are willing to recover the data stored in Glacier, several retrieval options will help you access it. RTO stands for Recovery Time Objective to decide the urgency of recovery. No matter what your RTO is, you can access your data instantly and in no time.
4. Archiving of digital media
Companies that deal with digital media such as news footage, major motion pictures, gaming projects, critical clippings, and more must preserve or archive that media long-term for future scenarios. Digital media are usually larger, such as gigabytes or terabytes. That is why their storage in cold storage is relatively effective so that they are secured in the long term. Without Amazon Glacier, you may have to pay a lot to store this digital media content online. Glacier is not only cost-effective but also equips you with easy search options whenever you need them.
5. Amazon Glacier Deep Archive Solutions
Amazon Glacier is working to improve products and introduce new features. That’s why AWS Glacier Deep Archive was introduced for users who require very long-term storage solutions at a low cost. With Deep Archive, data can be stored cost-effectively for more than ten years.
Conclusion
These are a few things that define the usability of AWS Glacier for businesses that deal with sensitive data being stored for long periods. Today, Amazon Glacier is recognized as a superior storage solution that is secure and resilient thanks to its services. So, ensure you understand how things work with AWS Glacier and its benefits before using it to streamline your business data storage needs. Log in to your AWS management console or create one to set up your Glacier account and upload tons of data without hassle.
It has numerous use cases with archiving options. Whether you’re part of an AWS environment, you can still use Amazon Glacier for your cold storage requirements. Glacier primarily uses AWS cloud infrastructure services and supports possible integration with third-party solutions.
The AWS Management Console has direct options to easily create or set up an Amazon Glacier storage service. Once you do this, you will have access to upload a large amount of data of your choice.
AWS works in the background to handle heavy operations to perform data storage needs. In addition, you gain the potential to increase or decrease the range of use.
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