AWS Storage Gateway | Volume Gateway Flashcards
What sort of encryption does file gateway use to protect my data?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
All data transferred between the gateway and AWS storage is encrypted using SSL. By default, all data stored in S3 is encrypted server-side with Amazon S3-Managed Encryption Keys (SSE-S3). For each file share you can optionally configure to have your objects encrypted with AWS KMS-Managed Keys using SSE-KMS
What is the relation between the volume gateway and previously available gateway-cached and gateway-stored modes?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
The volume gateway represents the family of gateways that support block-based volumes, previously referred to as gateway-cached and gateway-stored modes.
In the cached volume mode, your data is stored in Amazon S3 and a cache of the frequently accessed data is maintained locally by the gateway. With this mode, you can achieve cost savings on primary storage, and minimize the need to scale your storage on-premises, while retaining low-latency access to your most used data.
In the stored volume mode, data is stored on your local storage with volumes backed up asynchronously as Amazon EBS snapshots stored in Amazon S3. This provides durable and inexpensive off-site backups. You can recover these backups locally to your gateway or in-cloud to Amazon EC2, for example, if you need replacement capacity for disaster recovery.
How much volume data can I manage per gateway? What is the maximum size of a volume?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
Each volume gateway can support up to 32 volumes. In cached mode, each volume can be up to 32 TB for a maximum of 1 PB of data per gateway (32 volumes, each 32 TB in size). In stored mode, each volume can be up to 16 TB for a maximum of 512 TB of data per gateway (32 volumes, each 16 TB in size).
Volume gateways compress data before that data is transferred to AWS and while stored in AWS. This compression can reduce both data transfer and storage charges. Volume storage is not pre-provisioned; you will be billed for only the amount of data stored on the volume, not the size of the volume you create.
When I look in Amazon S3 why can’t I see my volume data?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
Your volumes are stored in Amazon S3 and accessible through AWS Storage Gateway. You cannot directly access them by using Amazon S3 API actions. You can take point-in-time snapshots of gateway volumes that are made available in the form of Amazon EBS snapshots. Use the file interface to work with your data natively in S3.
What sort of encryption does volume gateway use to protect my data?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
All data transferred between the gateway and AWS storage is encrypted using SSL. By default, all data stored by volume gateway in S3 is encrypted server-side with Amazon S3-Managed Encryption Keys (SSE-S3).
Why would I use snapshots?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
You can take point-in-time snapshots of your volume gateway volumes in the form of Amazon EBS snapshots.You can use a snapshot of your volume as the starting point for a new Amazon EBS volume, which you can then attach to an Amazon EC2 instance. Using this approach, you can easily supply data from your on-premises applications to your applications running on Amazon EC2 if you require additional on-demand compute capacity for data processing or replacement capacity for disaster recovery purposes.
For cached volumes, where your volume data is already stored in Amazon S3, you can use snapshots to preserve versions of your data. Using this approach, you can revert to a prior version when required or repurpose a point-in-time version as a new volume. You can initiate snapshots on a scheduled or ad hoc basis. When taking a new snapshot, only the data that has changed since your last snapshot is stored. If you have a volume with 100 GB of data, but only 5 GB of data have changed since your last snapshot, only the 5 additional GB of snapshot data will be stored in Amazon S3. When you delete a snapshot, only the data not needed for any other snapshot is removed.
For stored volumes, where your volume data is stored on-premises, snapshots provide durable, off-site backups in Amazon S3. You can create a new volume from a snapshot if you need to recover a backup. You can also use a snapshot of your volume as the starting point for a new Amazon EBS volume which you can then attach to an Amazon EC2 instance.
What data will my snapshot contain? How do I know when to take a snapshot to ensure my data is backed up?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
Snapshots represent a point-in-time copy of the volume at the time the snapshot is requested. They contain all of the information needed to restore your data (from the time the snapshot was taken) to a new volume. Data written to the volume by your application prior to taking the snapshot, but not yet been uploaded to AWS, will be included in the snapshot.
In practical terms, the snapshot will be assigned an ID and visible in the AWS Management Console and AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) immediately, but will initially be in a PENDING status. When all data written to the volume prior to the snapshot request has been uploaded from the gateway and into EBS, the status will change to AVAILABLE. At this point you can use the snapshot as the base for a new gateway or EBS volume.
How do I restore a snapshot to a gateway?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
Each snapshot is given a unique identifier that you can view using the AWS Management Console. You can create AWS Storage Gateway or Amazon EBS volumes based on any of your existing snapshots by specifying this unique identifier.
Using the AWS Management Console, you can create a new volume from a snapshot you’ve stored in Amazon S3. You can then mount this volume as an iSCSI device to your on-premises application server.
Because cached volumes store your primary data in Amazon S3, when creating a new volume from a snapshot, your gateway keeps the snapshot data in Amazon S3 where it becomes the primary data for your new volume.
Because stored volumes store your primary data locally, when creating a new volume from a snapshot, your gateway downloads the data contained within the snapshot to your local hardware. There it becomes the primary data for your new volume.
Do the AWS Storage Gateway’s volumes need to be un-mounted in order to take a snapshot? Does the snapshot need to complete before the volume can be used again?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
No, taking snapshots does not require you to un-mount your volumes, nor does it impact your application’s performance. However, snapshots only capture data that has been written to your AWS Storage Gateway volume, which may exclude any data that has been locally buffered by your application or OS.
Can I schedule snapshots of my AWS Storage Gateway volumes?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
Yes, you can create a snapshot schedule for each of your volumes. You can modify both the time the snapshot occurs each day, as well as the frequency (every 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours).
How long does it take to complete a snapshot?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
The time it takes to complete a snapshot is largely dependent upon the size of your volume and the speed of your Internet connection to AWS. The AWS Storage Gateway compresses all data prior to upload, reducing the time to take a snapshot.
Will I be able to access my snapshot data using Amazon S3’s APIs?
Volume Gateway
AWS Storage Gateway | Storage
No, snapshots are only accessible from the AWS Storage Gateway and Amazon EBS and cannot be directly accessed using Amazon S3 APIs.
