AWS EFS vs EBS vs S3 differences when to use

0 votes

As per the title of this question, what are the practical differences between AWS EFS, EBS and S3?

My understanding of each:

  • S3 is a storage facility accessible any where
  • EBS is a device you can mount onto EC2
  • EFS is a file system you can mount onto EC2

So why would I use EBS over EFS? Seem like they have the same use cases but minor semantic differences? Although EFS is replicated across AZs where as EBS is just a mounted device. I guess my understanding of EBS is lacking hence I'm unable to distinguish.

Why choose S3 over EFS? They both store files, scale and are replicated. I guess with S3 you have to use the SDK where as with EFS being a file system you can you standard I/O methods from your programming language of choice to create files. But is that the only real difference?

Aug 9, 2018 in AWS by ArchanaNagur
• 2,360 points
1,544 views

1 answer to this question.

0 votes
Parameters S3 EBS EFS
Access Can be accessed publicly  Accessed only through given EC2 Machine Accessible through several EC2 machines and AWS services
Storage type Object Storage Block Storage Object Storage
cost $0.023/Month $0.045-0.1/Month $0.3/Month
scalability Scalable Hardly scalable Scalable
Interface Web interface File System interface Web and file system interface
Efficiency Slower than EBS and EFS Faster than S3 and EFS Faster than S3, slower than EBS
Application Good for storing backups Is meant to be EC2 drive Good for shareable applications and workloads

answered Aug 9, 2018 by ArchanaNagur
• 2,360 points

Related Questions In AWS

0 votes
0 answers

What are the key differences between AWS EFS and S3, and when should I use each?

What are the key differences between AWS ...READ MORE

3 days ago in AWS by Priyanka
• 840 points
20 views
0 votes
1 answer

What are the practical differences between AWS EFS, EBS and S3?

EFS  It is a file storage connected with ...READ MORE

answered Aug 8, 2018 in AWS by sunshine
• 1,300 points
1,581 views
0 votes
1 answer

When should I use a t2.medium vs. a m3.medium instance type within AWS?

30000 hits per month is on average ...READ MORE

answered Aug 17, 2018 in AWS by Priyaj
• 58,100 points
6,708 views
0 votes
1 answer

AWS Access Key error when uploading to S3

You can try getting creating a new ...READ MORE

answered Feb 6, 2019 in AWS by Priyaj
• 58,100 points
6,369 views
0 votes
2 answers

How to skip headers when reading a CSV file in S3 and creating a table in AWS Athena?

Thanks for the answer. This should be clear ...READ MORE

answered Aug 14, 2019 in AWS by athenauserz
11,743 views
0 votes
1 answer
0 votes
1 answer

How to use AWS S3 REST API ListObjects(v2) with multiple parent/child bucket directories?

Here you have to use the ListObjectsV2 ...READ MORE

answered Feb 15, 2022 in AWS by anonymous
1,273 views
+2 votes
1 answer
0 votes
1 answer

Add EBS to Ubuntu EC2 Instance

you are creating a new volume, so ...READ MORE

answered May 16, 2019 in AWS by ArchanaNagur
• 2,360 points
1,096 views
webinar REGISTER FOR FREE WEBINAR X
REGISTER NOW
webinar_success Thank you for registering Join Edureka Meetup community for 100+ Free Webinars each month JOIN MEETUP GROUP