What is Amazon S3 Bucket? (How It Works, Features, and Cost)

Amazon.com is the place to find and discover just about anything. Amazon is interested in providing its customers with quality amazon web service. If you need a file storage system, it offers Amazon S3. But what is Amazon S3? Read on to find out.

Amazon is a one-stop destination for all your shopping needs. It is where you can browse thousands of products, compare prices, read detailed reviews and opinions, and even store your files online. Amazon provides cloud storage services that help you to store huge volumes of files at a meager cost.

The Amazon S3 Website allows you to upload your data to the cloud and access it from anywhere on a PC or mobile. If you’re interested in knowing what an Amazon S3 bucket is, continue reading.

Table Of Contents

What Is Amazon S3 Bucket?

Amazon S3 is an online file storage system that stores data as objects in a bucket offered through Amazon web services. They're also known as storage buckets, object storage buckets, or Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) buckets. A bucket is a container for storing objects in Amazon S3.

Amazon S3 is popular for storing data because it is easy to use, scalable, and reliable. You use buckets to store objects, which consist of data and metadata. Objects can be anything from 1 byte to 5 GB in size. The data part of an object consists of the actual file content, while the metadata contains information such as the file name, file type, and creation date.

When you create a bucket, you specify the region where you want the bucket to be located. The region is crucial because it determines where your data will be stored physically and how quickly users can access it.

What Does Amazon S3 Do?

Amazon S3 is a cloud storage and file hosting service that offers users a cost-effective, highly scalable, and reliable way to store and access data. Amazon S3 provides a simple web services interface that you can use to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. Users can upload any size or type of file to Amazon S3, and the service automatically handles the scaling and management of the data.

Amazon S3 also provides security features to help protect data, including encryption and access control. You use buckets and objects as storage which are files and metadata. You can also download objects from your buckets or delete them if you no longer need them. There are four storage classes available on Amazon S3: Standard, Standard-Infrequent Access (Standard-IA), one zone-IA, and Glacier.

Standard storage is the default class for objects stored in Amazon S3. It offers high durability and availability at a low cost.
Standard-IA is cost-effective if you occasionally need the data.
One zone-IA is a lower-cost option for infrequently accessed data with a 3 to 5 seconds retrieval time.
Glacier is the lowest-cost option and is best suited for long-term archival data that is not frequently accessed.

The storage classes make it easier for companies to be connected to the world without relying on servers.

What Is Amazon S3 Bucket Intelligent-Tiering?

Amazon S3 bucket intelligent-tiering is a storage option for Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) that automatically moves data to the most cost-effective storage access tier without performance impact or added complexity. S3 bucket intelligent tiering optimizes storage costs by automatically moving data to the most cost-effective access tier without performance impact or added complexity.

It can help customers save up to 20% on their total S3 storage costs. To get started with S3 bucket intelligent-tiering, customers enable the feature and configure their preferred settings. There is no need to tag objects or manage lifecycles. Data is automatically moved between access tiers based on changing access patterns and remains in its original storage class. S3 bucket intelligent tiering offers three access tiers: frequent access, infrequent access, and one zone-infrequent access.

The frequent access tier provides low latency and high throughput for frequently accessed data. The infrequent access tier is optimized for long-term storage and offers a lower retrieval rate than the frequent access tier. The one-zone-infrequent access tier further reduces costs by storing data in a single Availability Zone while still providing the same low retrieval rate as the infrequent access tier.

The S3 lifecycle policy also provides the rules governing how data is stored and managed in Amazon S3. These rules can automate the process of moving data between different storage tiers or keep data in its original state. The lifecycle policy is defined by a JSON document that contains a series of actionable events.

What Are Amazon S3 Bucket Features?

As one of the most popular cloud storage services, Amazon S3 buckets offer a variety of features that can be useful for individuals and businesses. Some of the most notable features include:

Storage Classes: Amazon S3 offers different storage classes depending on your needs. The standard storage class is designed for frequently accessed data, while the infrequent access storage class is meant for data that is not accessed often. There is also a reduced redundancy storage class for data that can be easily reproduced.
Versioning: Amazon S3 buckets can keep track of different versions of files, so you can revert to earlier versions if needed. It can be helpful if you accidentally delete a file or make changes you regret later.
Encryption: Default encryption means that all data stored in the bucket is automatically encrypted at rest. It can help to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
Tags: Bucket tags allow users to add metadata to their buckets for easier identification and management. For example, a user could tag a bucket with its contents type (e.g., "images" or "videos") or purpose (e.g., "personal" or "work").
Object Lock: Object lock allows users to set an expiration date for objects stored in the bucket. Once you reach the expiration date, the object will be permanently deleted, and you cannot restore it. It can help ensure that sensitive data is not kept indefinitely.
Notifications: You can use Notifications to stay informed about events happening in the bucket, such as when an object is added or deleted. Users can specify which events they want to be notified about and what actions should be taken in response to those events.

How Much Do Amazon S3 Buckets Cost?

The cost of Amazon S3 buckets depends on the storage class and location you choose. Amazon S3 buckets cost $0.10 per GB. There's no limit to the number of objects you can store in a bucket, but there are billing limits on how much you can transfer between your accounts and other AWS services. Buckets are inexpensive but limited in size by default. You need to pay for additional capacity if you want more space.

When considering the cost of an additional Amazon S3 bucket, there are a few different components to consider. The first is the storage price for the data you will store in the bucket. It will vary depending on the data's size and the redundancy required.

Another cost component is the price of data transfer. It is determined by the amount of information you need to move in and out of the bucket and the location of your users. Also, you will need to consider any additional features or services that you may need, such as security or workflow management.

Bottom Line

Amazon S3 bucket is a storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is an object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance. Amazon S3 is used to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web.