AWS Glacier: From the aforementioned list, AWS Glacier, is the backup

and archival storage provided by AWS. It is an extremely low-cost, long-

term, durable, secure storage service that is ideal for backups and archival
needs. In a lot of its operations AWS Glacier is similar to S3, and, it
interacts directly with S3, using S3-lifecycle policies. However, the main
difference between AWS S3 and Glacier is the cost structure. The cost of
storing the same amount of data in AWS Glacier is significantly less as
compared to S3. Storage costs in Glacier can be as little as $1 for one
petabyte of data per month.

AWS Glacier Terminology

1. Vaults: Vaults are virtual containers that are used to store data. Vaults
in AWS Glacier are similar to buckets in S3.
• Each Vault has its specific access policies(Vault lock/access
policies). Thus providing you with more control over who has
what kind of access to your data.
• Vaults are region-specific.
2. Archives: Archives are the fundamental entity type stored in Vaults.
Archives in AWS Glacier are similar to Objects in S3. Virtually you have
unlimited storage capacity on AWS Glacier and hence, can store an
unlimited number of archives in a vault.
3. Vault Access Policies: In addition to the basic IAM controls AWS
Glacier offers Vault access policies that help managers and administrators
have more granular control of their data.
• Each vault has its own set of Vault Access Policies.
• If either of Vault Access Policy or IAM control doesn’t pass for
some user action. The user is not declared unauthorized.
4. Vault Lock Policies: Vault lock policies are exactly like Vault access
policies but once set, they cannot be changed.
• Specific to each bucket.
• This helps you with data compliance controls. For example-
Your business administrators might want some highly
confidential data to be only accessible to the root user of the
account, no matter what. Vault lock policy for such a use case can
be written for the required vaults.
Features of AWS Glacier
• Given the extremely cheap storage, provided by AWS Glacier, it
doesn’t provide as many features as AWS S3. Access to data in
AWS Glacier is an extremely slow process.
• Just like S3, AWS Glacier can essentially store all kinds of data
types and objects.
• Durability: AWS Glacier, just like Amazon S3, claims to have a
99.9999999% of durability (11 9’s). This means the possibility
of losing your data stored in one of these services one in a billion.
AWS Glacier replicates data across multiple Availability Zones
for providing high durability.
• Data Retrieval Time: Data retrieval from AWS Glacier can be
as fast as 1-5 minutes (high-cost retrieval) to 5-12 hours(cheap
data retrieval).
• AWS Glacier Console: The AWS Glacier dashboard is not as
intuitive and friendly as AWS S3. The Glacier console can only
be used to create vaults. Data transfer to and from AWS Glacier
can only be done via some kind of code. This functionality is
provided via:
o AWS Glacier API
o AWS SDKs
• Region-specific costs: The cost of storing data in AWS Glacier
varies from region to region.
• Security:
o AWS Glacier automatically encrypts your data
using the AES-256 algorithm and manages its
keys for you.
o Apart from normal IAM controls AWS Glacier
also has resource policies (vault access policies
and vault lock policies) that can be used to manage
access to your Glacier vaults.
• Infinite Storage Capacity: Virtually AWS Glacier is supposed
to have infinite storage capacity.
Data Transfer In Glacier
1. Data Upload
• Data can be uploaded to AWS Glacier by creating a vault from
the Glacier console and using one of the following methods:
o Write code that uses AWS Glacier SDK to upload
data.
o Write code that uses AWS Glacier API to upload
data.
o S3 Lifecycle policies: S3 lifecycle policies can be
set to upload S3 objects to AWS Glacier after
some time. This can be used to backup old and
infrequently access data stored in S3.
2. Data Transfer Between Regions
AWS Glacier is a region-specific service. Data in one region can be
transferred to another from the AWS console. This cost of suck a data
transfer is $0.02.
3. Data Retrieval
As mentioned before, AWS Glacier is a backup and data archive service,
given its low cost of storage, AWS Glacier data is not readily available for
consumption.
• Data retrieval from Glacier can only be done via some sort of
code, using AWS Glacier SDK or the Glacier API.
• Data Retrieval in AWS Glacier is of three types:
o Expedited:
o This mode of data retrieval is only
suggested for urgent requirements
of data.
o A single expedited retrieval
request can only be used to retrieve
250MB of data at max.
o This data is then provided to you
within 1-5 minutes.
o The cost of expedited retrieval is
$0.03 per GB and 0.01 per request.
o Standard:
o This data retrieval mode can be
used for any size of data, full or
partial archive.
o This data is then provided to you
within 3-5 hours.
 o The cost of standard retrieval
is $0.01 per GB and $0.05 per
1000 requests.
o Bulk:
o This data retrieval is suggested for
mass retrieval of data (petabytes of
data).
o It is the cheapest data retrieval
option offered by AWS Glacier
o This data is then provided to you
within 5-12 hours.
o The cost of bulk retrieval is 0.0025
per GB and 0.025 per 1000 requests

Benefits of Amazon Glacier

• Lower Cost: Glacier is intended to be Amazon’s most
affordable storage class. When compared to other Amazon
storage service, this allows an organization to store large amounts
of data at a lower cost.
• Upholds archive database: It is not mandatory for an
organization to keep up its own archival database. Administrative
duties including hardware and capacity planning are handled by
AWS.
• Durability: Glacier can restore data more easily in the event that
it is lost in one of the three actual AWS Availability Zones where
it is distributed at any one time.
• Scalability: Businesses are able to adjust the amount of data
they store as needed. Businesses have a choice between bulk,
standard, and expedited retrievals.

Difference between Amazon Glacier and Amazon S3

Feature Amazon Glacier Amazon S3

Long-term archival of Frequently accessed

Use Case infrequently accessed data with low-latency
data. requirements.
Feature Amazon Glacier Amazon S3

Lower storage costs,

Generally higher
making it economical
Storage Cost storage costs, suitable
for long-term
for actively used data.
retention.

High durability with High durability with

redundant storage multiple storage
Durability
across multiple classes, each with its
facilities. redundancy strategy.

Longer retrieval times Near-instantaneous

(Standard, Expedited, retrieval for
Retrieval Time
Bulk options frequently accessed
available). data.

Supports lifecycle
Supports lifecycle
policies but focused
Lifecycle Policies policies for automated
on different storage
data management.
classes.

Supports AWS Supports AWS

Data Transfer Transfer Acceleration Transfer Acceleration
Acceleration for faster data for faster data
uploads. uploads.

Robust security Robust security

features, including features, including
Security
encryption at rest and encryption at rest and
in transit. in transit.
Content delivery platforms typically focus on high-speed, low-latency
delivery of media and files to users across the globe. For this purpose,
platforms like Amazon CloudFront are more commonly used. CloudFront
is a content delivery network (CDN) integrated with AWS that ensures the
rapid distribution of content by caching it in edge locations close to the end
users.

Here's a basic comparison:

• Amazon Glacier: Ideal for long-term data archiving and backups

with slower retrieval (minutes to hours). Not suited for frequent, real-
time access required by content delivery platforms.
• Amazon CloudFront: Suited for content delivery, with low-latency,
high-speed data transfer to users by caching content at various global
edge locations. Used for delivering websites, APIs, video content, and
other media.

Content delivery platforms like Amazon CloudFront and archival services

like Amazon Glacier serve very different purposes, but they can
complement each other in a system. Here's how they work together:

1. Amazon CloudFront (Content Delivery)

• Purpose: CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) designed

to provide fast, low-latency access to content. It caches data (web
pages, videos, APIs, etc.) in edge locations spread across the globe,
ensuring that users receive the content from the nearest server.
• Use Cases: Used for delivering websites, streaming video, and
distributing large files like software updates.
• How it Works:
o When a user requests content, CloudFront checks if the content
is already cached in a nearby edge location.
o If the content is not cached, CloudFront fetches it from the
origin server (such as an S3 bucket, EC2 instance, or any other
web server), and then delivers it to the user while caching it for
future requests.

2. Amazon Glacier (Archival Storage)

 • Purpose: Glacier is designed for long-term storage and archiving
of data that doesn't need to be accessed frequently but must be kept
securely for years or decades.
• Use Cases: Ideal for backups, legal records, media archives, or any
data that is rarely accessed but needs to be stored cost-effectively for
the long term.
• How it Works:
o Data stored in Glacier is inexpensive but requires long retrieval
times (ranging from minutes to hours).
o It’s optimized for cost, not speed, and thus unsuitable for real-
time content delivery.

3. How They Work Together

• Primary Content Delivery via CloudFront: For day-to-day or

frequent user requests, CloudFront serves the content quickly by
caching it at edge locations close to the users. This ensures a smooth
experience for streaming, downloading, or viewing.
• Archiving with Glacier: Data that is not frequently accessed but still
important (such as older versions of content, backups, or archived
media files) can be stored in Glacier. It’s more cost-effective to store
this data long-term without worrying about retrieval speed.
• Workflow Example:
o Let’s say you are a media company streaming videos. You
might use CloudFront to serve the latest movies and TV shows,
ensuring quick access for users.
o Once a piece of content becomes outdated (e.g., old episodes),
you could move it to Glacier for archival.
o If users want access to this old content later, you can retrieve it
from Glacier (which takes longer) and serve it through
CloudFront again after retrieval.