Amazon Glacier is a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost cloud storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed for data archiving and long-term backup, offering storage at a significantly reduced cost compared to other cloud storage services. Here are key aspects of Amazon Glacier:
Features:
- Durability: Data stored in Amazon Glacier is designed for 99.999999999% (11 9's) durability, ensuring data remains intact over time.
- Security: All data is automatically encrypted before being uploaded to Glacier, and encryption keys are managed by AWS Key Management Service (KMS).
- Retrieval Options:
- Expedited: For quick retrieval in minutes.
- Standard: Generally completes within 3-5 hours.
- Bulk: For large amounts of data, usually taking 5-12 hours.
- Storage Classes: There are three storage classes within Glacier:
- Data Lifecycle Management: Integration with Amazon S3 lifecycle policies allows for automatic archiving of data from S3 to Glacier.
History and Context:
Amazon Glacier was introduced by AWS in August 2012 as a solution for businesses needing to store data for compliance or regulatory purposes, or for long-term backup where data retrieval times are less critical. Since its inception:
- It has become an integral part of AWS's suite of storage solutions, complementing other services like S3 for different data storage needs.
- Enhancements have been made to improve retrieval times, introduce different retrieval options, and integrate more seamlessly with other AWS services.
- The introduction of different storage classes within Glacier has provided users with more options to tailor their storage costs and retrieval speeds according to their needs.
Usage:
Amazon Glacier is commonly used for:
- Long-term data archiving.
- Backup and disaster recovery.
- Compliance with regulatory requirements for data retention.
- Storing vast amounts of digital media that do not require frequent access.
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