All terms

Glossary

S3 storage classes

Also: Lifecycle rules

Storage tiers by access frequency, from instantly available to archive, at very different prices.

Leaving data that is never read again after three months in the most expensive class is the most common quiet cost item in grown environments.

Lifecycle rules move objects automatically by age, and intelligent tiering takes the decision away when access patterns are unknown.

How you notice it

  • There are buckets without lifecycle rules, some for years.
  • Logs and backups sit in the standard class.
  • The storage item grows monotonically although nothing may be deleted.

Frequently asked

When does Glacier pay off and when not?

Glacier pays off for data that has to be kept for legal reasons and is practically never read. As soon as regular analyses run across the archive, retrieval cost eats the saving. For unclear access patterns intelligent tiering is the lower-risk choice.

Read moreHidden architecture costs on AWS

Where this comes up in my work

Reducing AWS costs

I find where your AWS budget leaks away, and cut it measurably without giving up performance or availability.

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Related terms

Cost and Usage ReportEgress cost