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AWS Snow Family

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The AWS Snow Family comprises a suite of physical devices and services designed to facilitate large-scale data transfer, edge computing, and migration to the AWS Cloud. Key members include Snowcone, Snowball, Snowball Edge, and Snowmobile. Snowcone is the smallest device, ideal for edge locations with limited space and power, supporting data transfer and local compute tasks. Snowball offers larger storage capacities and is used for moving terabytes to petabytes of data securely into AWS, minimizing the need for lengthy online transfers. Snowball Edge enhances this with additional compute capabilities, enabling not only data migration but also running applications at the edge, useful for scenarios like remote offices or disaster recovery. Snowmobile is a massive, shipping-container-sized solution designed for migrating exabytes of data, making it suitable for enterprises with substantial data transfer needs. The Snow Family devices are rugged, secure, and equipped with features like encryption, tamper-resistant enclosures, and integrated software to streamline the migration process. They support various AWS services integration, ensuring that data imported via Snow devices can be seamlessly transferred to services like Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, and others. For AWS Certified Cloud Practitioners and those involved in migration and transfer, understanding the Snow Family is crucial as it provides flexible, scalable, and secure options for moving data to the cloud, especially in environments where network connectivity is limited or data volumes are exceptionally large. This understanding helps in selecting the appropriate tool for specific migration challenges, ensuring efficient and reliable transitions to AWS infrastructure.

AWS Snow Family

The AWS Snow Family is a collection of physical devices that help migrate large amounts of data into and out of AWS. It is important because it enables customers to securely transfer petabytes of data to AWS when moving data over networks is impractical due to limited bandwidth or high network costs.

The Snow Family consists of:

  • AWS Snowcone: A small, rugged, and secure edge computing and data transfer device, with 8 TB of usable storage.
  • AWS Snowball: A petabyte-scale data transport solution that uses devices designed to be secure to transfer large amounts of data into and out of AWS.
  • AWS Snowmobile: An exabyte-scale data transfer service that uses a 45-foot long ruggedized shipping container, pulled by a semi-trailer truck.

To use the Snow Family devices, you start by ordering the device from the AWS Management Console. Once it arrives, you connect it to your local network, configure it, and copy your data onto the device using the AWS OpsHub application or the file interface. After the data is copied, the device is shipped back to AWS, where the data is transferred to Amazon S3 or Amazon EBS.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on AWS Snow Family
  • Remember the differences between Snowcone, Snowball, and Snowmobile in terms of their storage capacities and use cases.
  • Know that the Snow Family devices are used for secure, offline data transfer when moving large amounts of data to AWS.
  • Understand that the devices are ordered from AWS, loaded with data on-premises, and then shipped back to AWS for data transfer.
  • Recognize scenarios where using the Snow Family is more appropriate than transferring data over the network, such as when bandwidth is limited or network costs are high.

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CCP - Migration and Transfer Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Question 1

Which AWS Snow Family device is best suited for transferring exabytes of data to AWS in a single location?

Correct Answer: AWS Snowmobile is an exabyte-scale data transfer service used to move extremely large amounts of data to AWS.

AWS Snowmobile is the best suited AWS Snow Family device for transferring exabytes of data to AWS in a single location. It is designed specifically for extremely large-scale data transfer, capable of moving exabytes of data. The other options have limitations: AWS Snowcone is a much smaller device meant for edge locations and smaller data transfer needs. AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices are meant for petabyte-scale transfer, not exabyte-scale. Regular AWS Snowball devices also do not have the exabyte-level capacity that Snowmobile provides for large single-site data migration.

Question 2

Which AWS Snow Family device is designed for transferring up to 80TB of data in rugged, secure, and portable devices?

Correct Answer: AWS Snowball

AWS Snowball is the correct answer. It is a rugged, secure, and portable device designed for transferring up to 80TB of data. AWS Snowmobile is incorrect because it is used for much larger data transfers, up to 100PB. AWS Snowcone is a smaller device, not suitable for the 80TB requirement. AWS Snow Shovel is a made-up device and not part of the AWS Snow Family.

Question 3

Which AWS Snow Family device is optimized for storage-heavy workloads and large scale data migrations, capable of transporting up to 100 petabytes of data?

Correct Answer: AWS Snowmobile

The AWS Snowmobile is the largest device in the AWS Snow Family, capable of transporting up to 100 petabytes of data. It is optimized for storage-heavy workloads and large scale data migrations. The AWS Snowcone is a smaller device meant for edge computing and data transfer up to 8 TB. The AWS Snowball Edge provides block and object storage and optional GPU for processing data, but has a capacity of up to 80 TB. The standard AWS Snowball is suited for transferring 50-80 TB of data. Therefore, the AWS Snowmobile with its 100 PB capacity is the best answer for the given question.

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