Amazon Elastic File System (23rd Nov)

  1. AWS EFS is a managed, distributed file system service.
  2. Designed for Linux-based workloads.
  3. Uses NFS (Network File System) access protocol,supporting versions 4.0 and 4.1.
  4. Can be accessed from on-premises servers via VPN or Direct Connect.
  5. It is more expensive than S3 per GB but provides shared, low-latency and scalable file storage.
  6. Use Cases:
    • Shared file storage for Linux-based applications.
    • Compatible with Linux servers, Amazon ECS, EKS, and Lambda.
    • Suitable for: home directories, content management, big data analytics, media processing, web hosting, and other shared workloads requiring high availability across multiple AZs.

efs fsx

1. What is a File System?

A file system is like a digital filing cabinet where you store and organize your files (documents, pictures, videos, etc.).

Types of File Systems:

  1. Disk File Systems – Used on physical or virtual disks. Eg, ext4, NTFS, XFS.
  2. Network File Systems – Accessed over a network. Eg,: NFS (used by Linux systems and AWS EFS), SMB/CIFS (used by Windows systems and AWS FSx for Windows).
  3. Flash File Systems – Optimized for flash memory. Eg, JFFS2, F2FS, YAFFS.
  4. Database File Systems – Store data in a database instead of a traditional hierarchy. Examples: Oracle DBFS.
  5. Special-Purpose File Systems – Designed for specific tasks or virtual environments. Examples: /proc, tmpfs.

Cloud Examples:

  1. EFS (Elastic File System) - Shared network file system for Linux workloads, accessed via NFS protocol.
  2. FSx (Amazon FSx) – High-performance file systems for Windows workloads or specialized use cases, accessed via SMB protocol.

2. Accessing EFS

  1. Accessing EFS Across Different AWS Regions: There are two ways to achieve this:
    1. Cross-Region VPC Peering: Traditional method for connecting VPCs in different regions.
    2. AWS Transit Gateway (TGW): A modern, robust, and scalable solution, preferred for complex many-to-many connectivity across multiple VPCs and regions.
  2. Accessing EFS from On-Premises Servers: There are two options:
    1. AWS Site-to-Site VPN: Provides an encrypted connection over the public internet. Standard and lower-cost solution. Steps:
      • Virtual Private Gateway (VPG): Created in AWS and attached to VPC. Acts as the AWS endpoint for VPN connections. It is a virtual, AWS-managed component, not a physical device.
      • Customer Gateway (CGW): Created in AWS, but represents on-premises VPN device. It is a configuration object in AWS, not an actual device.
    2. AWS Direct Connect (DX): Provides dedicated bandwidth and lower latency, ideal for high-performance or large-scale workloads.

3. EBS vs EFS

  1. EFS : Use it when required
    1. Shared access by multiple EC2 instances
    2. Elasticity and automatic scaling
    3. High availability across multiple AZs
    4. Read-heavy, shared workloads like content management systems, big data, and home directories
  2. EBS: Use it when required
    1. Persistent and directly attached to a single EC2 instance
    2. Databases, transactional applications
    3. Workloads that need low-latency, high-throughput block storage alt text

4. EFS vs FSx

Both EFS and FSx are AWS storage services, but they cater to different needs:

  1. EFS (Elastic File System) is like a big shared folder that everyone can use. It’s perfect when multiple computers or servers need to access and work with files at the same time. It’s simple, scalable, and ideal for general-purpose workloads.
  2. FSx (Amazon FSx) is like a specialized folder built for specific tasks. It excels in high-performance applications or unique needs like Windows-based apps or workloads that require extra speed and specialized file system features.

Example:

  1. If your team is working on a shared project and everyone needs to access the same files at once, EFS is a great choice.
  2. If you’re running a Windows application that relies on Windows-specific file-sharing features or processing large datasets with high-speed requirements, FSx is the better option.

5. How EFS and FSx can work together?

Let’s say you're running a video-making business:

  1. You have lots of videos and files that your team needs to share and edit. You’d use EFS for that, so everyone can access the same files easily.
  2. But for editing and rendering big videos super fast, you use FSx because it’s really good at handling heavy tasks like video editing.

6. Question

A company's website uses an Amazon EC2 instance store for its catalog of items. The company wants to make sure that the catalog is highly available and that the catalog is stored in a durable location. What should a solutions architect do to meet these requirements?

  1. Move the catalog to Amazon ElastiCache for Redis.
  2. Deploy a larger EC2 instance with a larger instance store.
  3. Move the catalog from the instance store to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.
  4. Move the catalog to an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system. (Correct Ans)

Explanation:

  • EC2 instance store is ephemeral storage — data is lost if the instance stops, terminates, or fails. It is not durable.
  • Amazon EFS provides:
    • Highly available and durable storage, automatically replicated across multiple Availability Zones (AZs).
    • Shared access for multiple EC2 instances.
  • Why the other options are incorrect:
    1. ElastiCache for Redis: In-memory store, not durable for long-term storage.
    2. Larger EC2 instance store: Still ephemeral, doesn’t solve durability or availability.
    3. S3 Glacier Deep Archive: Extremely low-cost archival storage, not suitable for frequently accessed or highly available workloads.