How to Archive to and Retrieve from AWS Glacier Storage
How to Archive to and Retrieve from AWS Glacier Storage
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been a game-changer for data scientists and software engineers alike, thanks to its broad range of robust services. One of the lesser-known but incredibly powerful services is Amazon Glacier, a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost storage service for data archiving and long-term backup. In this post, we’ll explore how to archive to and retrieve data from AWS Glacier storage.
What is AWS Glacier?
AWS Glacier is a part of the Amazon S3 service that’s designed for data that’s infrequently accessed, making it suitable for long-term storage of information that’s not needed on a regular basis. It provides comprehensive security and compliance capabilities that can help meet regulatory requirements.
Archiving Data to AWS Glacier
Archiving data to Glacier involves moving the data from your S3 bucket to Glacier storage class. This process can be automated using the S3 Lifecycle policy. Here’s a step by step guide on how to do it:
Step 1: Log into your AWS Management Console and navigate to the S3 service.
Step 2: Choose the bucket containing the data you want to archive.
Step 3: Click on the ‘Management’ tab and then ‘Add lifecycle rule’.
Step 4: Enter a name for the rule, and in the ‘Transitions’ section, add a new transition for ‘Current version’ and ‘Previous versions’.
Step 5: Set the number of days after the object’s creation date when you want the object to transition to the Glacier storage class.
Step 6: Click ‘Next’ until you reach the ‘Review’ page, and then click ‘Save’.
Retrieving Data from AWS Glacier
Retrieving data from Glacier is slightly more complex due to its nature of being a cold storage. Let’s walk through the process:
Step 1: Log into your AWS Management Console and navigate to the S3 service.
Step 2: Choose the bucket and object you want to retrieve.
Step 3: Click on the ‘Action’ dropdown menu and select ‘Initiate Restore’.
Step 4: Enter the number of days that you need to access the object.
Step 5: Choose the retrieval option that best suits your needs. Options include ‘Expedited’, ‘Standard’, or ‘Bulk’. These vary in cost and speed of retrieval.
Step 6: Click ‘Restore’.
It’s important to note that the retrieval process isn’t instantaneous and can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on the retrieval option chosen.
Conclusion
AWS Glacier is a powerful tool for managing long-term data storage in a cost-effective manner. While the retrieval process can be a bit time-intensive, the cost savings make it an attractive option for data that doesn’t need to be readily available. As data scientists and software engineers, understanding how to effectively use services like AWS Glacier can help us better manage and store our data.
Remember: For any archival or retrieval operations, always ensure you understand the cost implications as AWS Glacier charges for both these operations based on the size of the data and the speed of retrieval.
This blog post is part of our series on understanding and utilizing AWS services. Stay tuned for more practical guides on leveraging the power of Amazon Web Services.
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