Storage - Overview of EBS

Question 1

What is Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)?

Answer 1

• EBS provides persistent and durable block level storage.
• It offers more flexibility in managing data compared to instance store volumes.
• EBS volumes are attached to EC2 instances and primarily used for rapidly changing data.

Question 2

How are EBS volumes connected to EC2 instances?

Answer 2

• EBS volumes are logically attached to EC2 instances.
• Only one EBS volume can be attached to a single EC2 instance.
• Multiple EBS volumes can be attached to a single instance.

Question 3

What happens to data stored on EBS volumes when instances are stopped or terminated?

Answer 3

• Data remains intact when instances are stopped, restarted, or terminated.
• EBS volumes enforce data persistence and can be backed up using snapshots.
• Snapshots are stored on Amazon S3 and can be used to recreate volumes if needed.

Question 4

What are the types of EBS volumes available?

Answer 4

• SSD (solid state drive) backed storage for smaller blocks and transactional workloads.
• HDD (hard disk drive) backed storage for higher throughput workloads and larger blocks.
• Different volume types provide varying performance factors based on size, IOPS, and throughput.

Question 5

How does EBS ensure data security?

Answer 5

• EBS offers data encryption for data at rest and in transit.
• Encryption is performed using AES-256 algorithm and is managed by AWS Key Management Service (KMS).
• Encrypted snapshots and volumes can be created and managed.

Question 6

How can EBS volumes be created and managed?

Answer 6

• EBS volumes can be created during EC2 instance launch or as standalone volumes.
• During launch, volume size, type, and termination options can be specified.
• Standalone volumes can be created and attached to EC2 instances within the same availability zone.

Question 7

Can EBS volumes be resized?

Answer 7

• Yes, EBS volumes can be resized elastically.
• Resizing can be done through the console, AWS CLI, or by creating a new volume from a snapshot with increased capacity.

Question 8

When is EBS not recommended for storage?

Answer 8

• EBS is not recommended for temporary storage or multi-instance storage access.
• For very high durability and availability, Amazon S3 or EFS is more suitable.