S3 Storage Classes & use cases

Here’s a comprehensive overview of Amazon S3 Storage Classes and their use cases:

 Amazon S3 Storage Classes.

Amazon S3 offers a range of storage classes to optimize cost and performance based on access frequency, durability, availability, and retention period.

1. S3 Standard

• Description: Default class for frequently accessed data.
• Durability: 99.999999999% (11 9s)
• Availability: 99.99%
• Min Storage Duration: None
• Use Cases:
• Web/mobile app content
• Dynamic websites
• Frequently accessed datasets
• Big data analytics

2. S3 Intelligent-Tiering

• Description: Automatically moves data between two or more access tiers based on usage.
• Durability: 11 9s
• Availability: 99.9%
• Min Storage Duration: 30 days
• Use Cases:
• Unpredictable access patterns
• Data lakes
• Long-lived but irregularly accessed data

3. S3 Standard-IA (Infrequent Access)

• Description: Lower cost for infrequently accessed data with rapid access when needed.
• Durability: 11 9s
• Availability: 99.9%
• Min Storage Duration: 30 days
• Use Cases:
• Backups and disaster recovery
• Long-term storage of less frequently accessed data
• Email archives

4. S3 One Zone-IA

• Description: Same as Standard-IA but stored in a single AZ.
• Durability: 11 9s (within 1 AZ)
• Availability: 99.5%
• Min Storage Duration: 30 days
• Use Cases:
• Re-creatable data
• Secondary backup copies
• Low-cost infrequently accessed data

5. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

• Description: Archive class with milliseconds access.
• Durability: 11 9s
• Availability: 99.9%
• Min Storage Duration: 90 days
• Use Cases:
• Archival data with occasional access
• Medical records, compliance data
• Long-term logs with periodic retrieval

6. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (formerly Glacier)

• Description: Archival with configurable retrieval speeds (minutes to hours).
• Durability: 11 9s
• Availability: 99.99% (with retries)
• Min Storage Duration: 90 days
• Use Cases:
• Compliance archives
• Long-term media archives
• Backup tapes replacement

7. S3 Glacier Deep Archive

• Description: Lowest-cost storage for archival with rare retrieval (12–48 hours).
• Durability: 11 9s
• Availability: 99.99% (with retries)
• Min Storage Duration: 180 days
• Use Cases:
• Digital preservation
• Legal or regulatory archives
• Historical data retention

8. S3 Reduced Redundancy Storage (RRS) (Legacy)

• Description: Lower durability for non-critical, reproducible data.
• Durability: 99.99%
• Use Cases:
• Temporary or easily regenerable data
• No longer recommended (deprecated for new use)

 Quick Decision Matrix

Use Case	Recommended Class
Frequently accessed data	S3 Standard
Unpredictable access	S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Infrequent but rapid access	S3 Standard-IA
Infrequent and reproducible	S3 One Zone-IA
Archive with fast retrieval	Glacier Instant Retrieval
Archive with flexible speed	Glacier Flexible Retrieval
Rarely accessed, lowest cost	Glacier Deep Archive