Key Features

1. Supports migrations, data processing, archival, disaster recovery (DR), business continuity (BC), and cost-effective storage solutions.
2. Provides incremental transfers, scheduled transfers, compression, encryption, and built-in data validation.
3. Features automatic error recovery during data transfer for reliability.
4. Integration with Amazon S3, Amazon EFS, Amazon FSx (for Windows File Server, Lustre, and OpenZFS).
5. Pricing is based on the volume of data transferred (per GB).

Components

1. Task: Defines the source, destination, and transfer options (e.g., transfer speed, schedule).
2. DataSync Agent: A software component that reads/writes data between on-premises NFS/SMB storage systems and AWS locations. This agent can be installed on your on-premises systems or on a virtual machine.
3. Location: Source and destination endpoints, such as NFS, SMB, S3, EFS, and FSx.

Snowball vs Data Sync

1. Data Sync
   1. Best for electronic data transfers.
   2. Supports migrations, data processing, archival, DR/BC, and cost-effective storage.
   3. Ideal for ongoing or recurring transfers where automation and integration are required.
   4. Examples: Syncing on-premises file shares to Amazon S3 or EFS.
2. AWS Snowball
   1. Best for offline data transfer.
   2. Useful for large-scale migrations when a significant amount of initial data needs to be transferred to AWS.
   3. Does not support the advanced features of DataSync.

Question - DataSync over AWS Direct Connect

A company receives 10 TB of instrumentation data each day from several machines located at a single factory. The data consists of JSON files stored on a storage area network (SAN) in an on-premises data center located within the factory. The company wants to send this data to Amazon S3 where it can be accessed by several additional systems that provide critical near-real-time analytics. A secure transfer is important because the data is considered sensitive. Which solution offers the MOST reliable data transfer?

1. AWS DataSync over public internet
2. AWS DataSync over AWS Direct Connect (Correct Ans)
3. AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) over public internet
4. AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) over AWS Direct Connect

Explanation:

1. AWS DataSync is designed to securely and efficiently transfer large amounts of data from on-premises storage to AWS.
2. AWS Direct Connect provides a private, high-bandwidth connection between your data center and AWS, ensuring secure and reliable data transfer. It improves performance and security for both services DataSync and DMS.

Why Not Option 4?

1. MS is primarily designed for database migrations and continuous data replication between relational databases or certain NoSQL databases.
2. It focuses on structured data, not raw files such as JSON data. AWS DMS would not be the ideal tool for this file transfer

Question - Periodically back up small amounts of data to Amazon S3

A company has NFS servers in an on-premises data center that need to periodically back up small amounts of data to Amazon S3. Which solution meets these requirements and is MOST cost-effective?

1. Set up AWS Glue to copy the data from the on-premises servers to Amazon S3.
2. Set up an AWS DataSync agent on the on-premises servers, and sync the data to Amazon S3.(Correct Answer)
3. Set up an SFTP sync using AWS Transfer for SFTP to sync data from on premises to Amazon S3.
4. Set up an AWS Direct Connect connection between the on-premises data center and a VPC, and copy the data to Amazon S3.

Explanation:

1. AWS DataSync is designed to move data between on-premises storage (including NFS) and AWS services like S3.
2. It handles incremental changes, encryption, and data integrity checks.
3. You pay per GB transferred, with no need for long-term infrastructure setup or provisioning.
4. It supports scheduled tasks, perfect for periodic backups.

Why the others aren't ideal?

1. AWS Glue: Primarily for ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) workflows, not file backup. It's overkill and not designed for syncing NFS data.
2. AWS Transfer for SFTP: Requires running and managing SFTP servers, better suited for user-driven file uploads.
3. AWS Direct Connect: Provides dedicated networking but is costly and unnecessary for small, periodic backups.