What is EBS? An Introduction to Amazon's Elastic Block Store

Cloud computing is in its hyper-growth phase, one of the most crucial points of keeping ahead of the curve is to manage Cloud storage efficiently. 

One of the key storage solutions offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for computation and business logic is the Elastic Block Store (EBS). 

So, what is EBS & why should it matter to your business? 

In this post, we’ll delve into the fundamentals of EBS, its key features, and why it’s an essential component of any cloud infrastructure.

The figures for EBS adoption are astonishing : 

*https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/storage/amazon-elastic-block-store-at-15-years/

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UNDERSTANDING EBS

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) is a versatile block storage service optimized for use with Amazon EC2 instances, whether integrated within an EKS cluster or used independently. 

EBS provides persistent, high-performance block storage for a variety of workloads. Whether you need storage for databases, file systems or applications, EBS delivers the performance and durability required.

EBS volumes are easily available and reliable storage volumes that can be attached to any running instance in the same Availability Zone (AZ). These volumes remain persistent beyond the lifecycle of an instance, making them ideal for data that requires frequent updates and long-term persistence, while also supporting efficient computational business logic.

Key Features of EBS

1. Persistent Storage: EBS volumes are independent of EC2 instances. This means that even if an EC2 instance is terminated, the data stored on the EBS volume remains intact. 
2. Scalability and Flexibility: EBS volumes can be scaled to meet changing requirements. With a variety of volume types, they support a wide range of workloads, from small development projects to mission-critical applications., 
3. High Availability: EBS volumes are designed for 99.999% availability. Data is automatically replicated within its AZ to protect against component failure.
4. Security: EBS provides encryption at rest and in transit, ensuring that your data is protected from unauthorized access.
5. Business efficiency EBS integrates seamlessly with other AWS services such as EC2 and RDS providing a cohesive cloud environment.
6. Snapshot Capability: EBS allows you to take snapshots of your volumes, providing a point-in-time backup that can be restored or used to create new volumes. This feature is crucial for data protection and disaster recovery.

Want to see how EBS can work for you? Book a demo to discover how we can optimize your storage for maximum efficiency.

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Types of EBS Volumes

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EBS offers several volume types, each designed for different use cases:

1. General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3): These are the most commonly used EBS volumes, offering a balance of price and performance. They are ideal for boot volumes, small to medium-sized databases, and development and test environments.
2. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1/io2): These volumes are designed for I/O-intensive applications such as large databases. They provide high performance and the ability to scale IOPS independently of volume size.
3. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1/sc1):
   1. High Throughput (st1): These volumes are designed for frequently accessed, throughput-intensive workloads such as big data, data warehouses, and log processing.
   2. Cold HDD (sc1): These volumes are ideal for infrequently accessed workloads with large, cold datasets. They offer a low-cost storage solution.

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Why EBS is crucial for your business:

EBS is one of the largest storage offerings in the world, and it plays a crucial role in cloud infrastructure by providing scalable, reliable, and high-performance storage for any business. For businesses leveraging AWS, EBS ensures that your applications have the storage resources they need to perform efficiently. Its flexibility in scaling and various volume types allows you to optimize both performance and cost.

By understanding what EBS is and how it can benefit your business, you’re better equipped to leverage its full potential. Whether you’re managing databases, running applications, or storing critical data, EBS provides a robust and versatile storage solution tailored to your needs.

Ready to optimize your cloud storage? Schedule a meeting now and see how our solution can save you up to 50% on EBS costs.

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