Storage Gateway

Storage Gateway allows us to place part of our storage infrastructure on the cloud and part of it on-premises. This can be because we would like to have fast access to the data through local storage but it also requires a backup of our data on the cloud. Another use case for hybrid storage is compliance with the regulations.

AWS Storage Gateway types

AWS Storage Gateway supports four types of gateways:

• Tape Gateway: This solution offers a virtual tape infrastructure for long-term archiving and backup, seamlessly scalable to meet your business needs while eliminating the operational burden of provisioning, scaling, and maintaining a physical tape infrastructure.

• Amazon S3 File Gateway: This offers a suite of features that enables you to store and retrieve Amazon S3 objects via standard file storage protocols. The file gateway optimizes retrieval speed by caching the most frequently accessed data.

• Amazon FSx File Gateway: Amazon FSx file storage seamlessly integrates on-premise and AWS FSx storage. When connecting Amazon FSx with local storage via the FSx File Gateway, we gain a cache of frequently accessed data from Amazon FSx for Windows File Server. This ensures low-latency access for users and applications.

• Volume Gateway: This allows our applications to use disk volumes through the iSCSIInternet Small Computer Systems Interface block protocol. Any data saved on these volumes can be periodically backed up as snapshots in the cloud using Amazon EBS technology.

The selection of gateway type is typically based on your specific storage and data transfer needs.

Use cases

AWS Storage Gateway is a flexible service that can be utilized in a variety of situations. Here are some typical use cases:

• Moving backups to the cloud: With AWS Storage Gateway, organizations can effortlessly shift their local backups to the cloud. This lets them tap into the scalability and cost-effectiveness of cloud-based storage.

• Decreasing on-premises storage with cloud-supported file shares: AWS Storage Gateway can be employed to decrease the quantity of on-premises storage by using file shares backed by the cloud. This can significantly cut the costs associated with maintaining on-premises storage infrastructure.

• Enabling on-site applications to access AWS data quickly: Amazon FSx File Gateway and S3 File Gateway stores frequently accessed data on-site, ensuring fast access for local applications while securely storing the data in AWS. This is especially helpful for applications that are sensitive to delays.

• Data lake access for pre and post-processing workflows: AWS Storage Gateway can be used to provide access to data lakes for workflows both before and after processing. This allows organizations to leverage the processing power of the cloud for their data processing needs.

Benefits

AWS Storage Gateway offers a multitude of benefits:

• Broad accessibility: It supports industry-standard protocols that offer connectivity to Linux, Windows, and macOS users and applications.

• Fast performance: AWS Storage Gateway boasts rapid response times and high data transfer speeds, ensuring it can handle even the most demanding workloads effectively.

• Simplified data management: By merging the capabilities of widely-used file systems with the simplicity of a fully managed AWS service, AWS Storage Gateway aids you in migrating legacy applications and constructing rich new applications more easily.

• Automatic data replication and reliability: Amazon S3 File Gateway automatically duplicates your data within or across AWS Availability Zones, ensuring it remains available and safe despite hardware issues. It constantly checks for hardware problems and switches to backup servers if needed, ensuring continuity of service.