AWS Snowball Edge | File Interface Flashcards
Which programming languages does the S3-compatible endpoint support?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
The S3-compatible endpoint supports the REST interface which is language-agnostic.
What is the file interface on Snowball Edge?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
The file interface enables you to store and retrieve objects on Snowball Edge through standard file storage protocols. When the Snowball Edge is shipped back to AWS for data import, these objects will be ingested into Amazon S3, and can be accessed directly through S3 as normal. You can also access the objects as files, including the original file system metadata, through AWS Storage Gateway.
How do I use the file interface on Snowball Edge?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
Once the Snowball Edge arrives at your site and has been unlocked, each of the S3 buckets is made available to your applications as an NFS export visible on the network to which the Snowball Edge is connected. You can use the local LCD display on the Snowball Edge to disable/enable the file interface. You can mount these NFS exports on your server, and your applications can read and write files as they would any other network shared file system. You can monitor the file interface status, and open a support channel through the LCD display.
What use cases does the file interface on Snowball Edge enable?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
The file interface enables multiple use cases. It lets you ingest existing files into Amazon S3 as objects using a common file protocol (NFS), and preserves associated file metadata as object metadata. This offline bulk data transfer enables you to seed file data into S3, and use it for in-cloud workloads, such as Big Data processing. Alternatively, the transferred file data can be accessed from your sites for hybrid applications or workflows by using AWS Storage Gateway.
What are the benefits of the file interface on Snowball Edge?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
The file interface on Snowball Edge enables your existing file-based applications, devices, and workflows to write data through standard file protocols, while also preserving metadata.
What file protocols are supported?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
Snowball Edge supports clients connecting using NFS v3 and v4.1. Microsoft Windows clients that support NFS v3 can connect to Snowball Edge.
How are files stored on Snowball Edge?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
Files are stored as objects in buckets on an AWS Snowball Edge appliance. File system metadata, such as permissions, ownership, and timestamps, is stored as user-defined object metadata. All data and metadata is encrypted when stored on the Snowball Edge.
How do I configure the file interface on the Snowball Edge?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
You can use the local LCD display on the Snowball Edge to disable/enable the file interface, monitor the file interface status, and open a support channel.
Can I use both the file interface and the Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball to write to a bucket on an AWS Snowball Edge appliance?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
We recommend against writing to buckets on an AWS Snowball Edge appliance both directly and through the file interface. If you directly overwrite or update an object previously written by the file interface, it will result in undefined behavior when the object is accessed through the file interface. Concurrent modification of the same object (e.g. via the file interface and the Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball) will lead to unpredictable results.
Can I use both the file interface and the Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball to read from the same bucket on an AWS Snowball Edge appliance?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
We recommend against using both the file interface and the Amazon Se Adapter for Snowball to read from the same bucket on an AWS Snowball Edge appliance. This may result in undefined behaviors.
Should I use the file interface to load data into the Snowball Edge or the Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
You can use file interface when your existing workflow is file-based or you want to access objects in S3 as files using standard filesystem operations. You can use the Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball when your application doesn’t require file system operations and can manage data transfer directly.
How does the file interface on Snowball Edge compare with the AWS Storage Gateway?
File Interface
AWS Snowball Edge | Storage
The file interface on Snowball Edge enables you to easily ingest data into S3 in an “off-line” mode. This is useful when you need to import sets of files that don’t need to be immediately available in S3, or from locations with insufficient bandwidth to transfer the data over the network.
AWS Storage Gateway enables you to put file data into S3 over the Internet or AWS Direct Connect, making your uploaded files instantly available.
