Comparing AWS Storage Services
Storage Services Overview
AWS offers different storage types for different needs: block storage (EBS) for EC2 instances, object storage (S3) for files and media, and file storage (EFS) for shared access across instances.
Comparing Storage Services Video
W3schools.com collaborates with Amazon Web Services to deliver digital training content to our learners.
Comparison
| Feature | Amazon EBS | Amazon S3 | Amazon EFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage type | Block storage | Object storage | File storage (NFS) |
| Access | Single EC2 instance | Web/API access | Multiple EC2 instances |
| Max size | 16 TiB per volume | 5 TB per object | Petabytes (auto-scales) |
| Strength | Low-latency performance | High durability (11 nines) | Shared access, elastic |
| Modification | Can modify in place | Must re-upload | Can modify in place |
When to Use Each
- EBS: Databases, boot volumes, applications needing fast read/write on a single instance
- S3: Static files, backups, media storage, data lakes, web content
- EFS: Shared file systems, content management, web serving across multiple instances
