Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) is a fully managed, scalable, and serverless file storage service, that can be used for general purpose workloads. It can be attached to multiple Amazon Web Services (AWS) compute instances and on-premises servers, providing a common resource for applications and data storage in many different environments.
An Overview of Amazon EFS.
Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) stands out as a versatile option for managing file storage in the cloud. It supports virtually unlimited storage capacity, making it ideal for dynamic workloads. It is built to scale automatically, allowing you to add or remove file systems without disrupting your applications. Works seamlessly with Amazon EC2, ECS, EKS, AWS Lambda, and on-premises servers through AWS Direct Connect or VPN. It automatically replicates data across multiple Availability Zones within a region, ensuring that your files are safe and accessible even in the event of a hardware failure or network issue. Access to shared EFS folders and data is provided through native operating system interfaces.
How does work EFS.
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) works by providing a shared, scalable, and fully managed file storage solution that allows multiple systems and applications to access data simultaneously over a network.
File System: Data is organized into directories and files that can be accessed with standard file commands.
Elastic Storage: Storage capacity automatically grows and shrinks as files are added or deleted.
NFS Protocol: This allows seamless integration with most operating systems and applications.
Diagram.
Benefits of Using Amazon EFS.
- An Amazon EFS is elastic.
- Pay only for the storage used.
- Simple setup with a few clicks via the AWS Management Console, CLI, or SDKs.
- storage capacity can be automatically scaled up (add more storage) or scaled down (shrink storage capacity) as folders and files are added to or removed from the system.
- EFS storage is permanent.
- Automatically integrates with existing AWS infrastructure.
- Designed for 99.999999999% (11 9s) durability, ensuring your data remains safe.
Creating an EFS.
- Log in to AWS Console.
- Create a New File System.
- Configure the File System.
- Configure Access Points.
- Add Tags.
- Review and Create.
- Mount Your EFS.
Use Cases.
Shared file storage for web servers (e.g., storing media, content, or application data). Centralized storage for processing large datasets with tools like Hadoop and Spark. Shared file system for storing artifacts or logs in containerized environments. Reliable, redundant storage for critical data backups.
EFS pricing.
Pricing is based on storage usage, performance modes, and data transfer. Designed for frequently accessed data, priced at $0.30 per GB per month. Accessing EFS from within the same AWS region typically does not incur data transfer charges. However, cross-region or cross-AZ access may result in additional costs. EFS automatically moves files between Standard and IA storage classes based on how often they are accessed. Files that are not accessed for a certain period of time are moved to IA storage automatically, helping optimize costs.
Storage Pricing: Around $0.30 per GB per month (varies by region).
Data Transfer: Data transfer between EC2 instances in the same region is free. However, you may incur charges for transferring data between different regions or to the internet.
Requests: There are additional charges for access requests to files in EFS IA storage (e.g., $0.04 per 1,000 requests).
Amazon Storage Services: EFS vs EBS vs S3.
| Storage Type | EFS | EBS | S3 |
| Performance | Scalable, supports high throughput | High performance with SSD or HDD options | Scalable with different storage classes (Standard, Glacier) |
| Cost | $0.3 per GB/month and $6 per MB/month for provisioned throughput | $.045-$0.125 per GB/month, depending on volume type | $0.021-0.023 per GB/month depending on total store |
| Data Retrieval | File-based access, supports NFS | Block-level access (mount on EC2) | Object-based retrieval (HTTP requests) |
| Storage and File Limits | Unlimited storage size 47.9 TB file size | 16 TB storage per volume with unlimited volumes File size limited by volume size | Unlimited storage size 5TB file size limit |
| Encryption | Supported at rest and in transit | Supported at rest and in transit | Supported at rest and in transit |
| Data Durability | 99.99% availability | 99.99% availability | 99.999999999% (11 9’s) durability |
When to Use Amazon EFS.
Web and Application Servers: For applications that require shared file storage across multiple EC2 instances (e.g., web servers and app servers), EFS provides a centralized location to store static assets, logs, and configurations.
Big Data and Analytics: EFS is well-suited for big data analytics workloads that require fast, parallel data access. It can be used as shared storage for tools like Apache Hadoop, Spark, and other distributed applications.
Backup and Disaster Recovery: EFS can be used to store backups of your EC2 instances or other AWS services. With its multi-AZ architecture, EFS ensures high availability, making it a reliable option for disaster recovery solutions.
Content Management Systems: For content-heavy applications (e.g., media processing, video rendering, or media streaming), EFS provides a scalable and high-performance solution for storing large volumes of files.
Conclusion.
Amazon EFS offers a scalable, highly available, and fully managed file storage solution for workloads that require shared access across multiple EC2 instances or on-premises servers. Whether you’re building a content management system, handling big data analytics, or running web applications, EFS offers the performance, security, and flexibility you need.
With the ability to scale seamlessly, integrate with existing applications, and optimize costs using different storage classes, Amazon EFS is an essential tool in the AWS ecosystem. By leveraging EFS, you can focus more on building your applications and less on managing infrastructure, making it an invaluable resource for cloud-native environments.
