Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed, scalable, and elastic cloud-based file storage service designed for use with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. EFS provides a simple, serverless file system that automatically grows and shrinks as you add or remove files, eliminating …Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed, scalable, and elastic cloud-based file storage service designed for use with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. EFS provides a simple, serverless file system that automatically grows and shrinks as you add or remove files, eliminating the need to provision and manage storage capacity.
Key features of Amazon EFS include:
1. **Scalability**: EFS automatically scales storage capacity from gigabytes to petabytes based on your needs. You only pay for the storage you actually use.
2. **Shared File Storage**: Multiple Amazon EC2 instances can access an EFS file system simultaneously, making it ideal for workloads that require shared access to data across multiple compute resources.
3. **High Availability and Durability**: EFS stores data redundantly across multiple Availability Zones within a region, ensuring high availability and durability for your files.
4. **Performance Modes**: EFS offers two performance modes - General Purpose for latency-sensitive applications and Max I/O for highly parallelized workloads requiring higher throughput.
5. **Storage Classes**: EFS provides Standard and Infrequent Access storage classes, allowing cost optimization by moving less frequently accessed files to lower-cost storage.
6. **Security**: EFS integrates with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), VPC security groups, and supports encryption at rest and in transit.
Common use cases for Amazon EFS include content management systems, web serving, data sharing, home directories, database backups, container storage, and big data analytics workloads.
EFS uses the Network File System (NFS) protocol, making it compatible with Linux-based workloads. For Windows workloads, AWS offers Amazon FSx as an alternative.
For the Cloud Practitioner exam, remember that EFS is a managed file storage solution ideal for scenarios requiring shared, scalable storage accessible by multiple EC2 instances concurrently.
Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) - Complete Guide
What is Amazon EFS?
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed, scalable, elastic file storage service designed for use with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. It provides a simple, serverless file system that automatically grows and shrinks as you add and remove files, eliminating the need to provision and manage capacity.
Why is Amazon EFS Important?
Amazon EFS is crucial for several reasons:
• Shared Storage: Multiple Amazon EC2 instances can access the same file system simultaneously, making it ideal for applications requiring shared data access • Automatic Scaling: Storage capacity automatically scales up or down based on your needs, so you never have to worry about capacity planning • High Availability: Data is stored redundantly across multiple Availability Zones within a region • Cost-Effective: You only pay for the storage you use, with no minimum fees or setup costs
How Amazon EFS Works
Amazon EFS operates using the following mechanism:
1. File System Creation: You create an EFS file system in your chosen AWS region 2. Mount Targets: You create mount targets in your VPC subnets to enable EC2 instances to connect 3. NFS Protocol: EFS uses the Network File System (NFS) protocol (versions 4.0 and 4.1) for file access 4. Concurrent Access: Thousands of EC2 instances can connect and access files at the same time 5. Storage Classes: EFS offers Standard and Infrequent Access storage classes to optimize costs
Key Features to Remember:
• Regional Service: EFS spans multiple Availability Zones for durability • Linux-Based: EFS is compatible with Linux-based AMIs only (not Windows) • POSIX-Compliant: Supports standard file system semantics • Encryption: Supports encryption at rest and in transit • Performance Modes: General Purpose and Max I/O modes available • Throughput Modes: Bursting and Provisioned throughput options
EFS vs EBS Comparison:
• EFS: Shared file storage, multiple instances can access, regional service, Linux only • EBS: Block storage, attached to single EC2 instance, Availability Zone specific, supports Windows and Linux
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Amazon EFS
When you encounter EFS questions on the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam, keep these strategies in mind:
1. Look for "shared" or "concurrent" keywords: If a question mentions multiple EC2 instances needing to access the same files, EFS is likely the answer
2. Remember the Linux requirement: EFS only works with Linux-based systems. If Windows is mentioned, consider FSx for Windows instead
3. Understand the difference from EBS: EBS is attached to a single instance; EFS can be mounted by many instances across different Availability Zones
4. Recognize scaling scenarios: When questions describe unpredictable or variable storage needs, EFS is appropriate because it scales automatically
5. Regional vs Zonal: EFS is a regional service (spans AZs), while EBS volumes exist in a single Availability Zone
6. Use case recognition: Content management systems, web serving, data sharing, and big data analytics are common EFS use cases
7. Cost optimization questions: Remember EFS Infrequent Access (EFS-IA) for files not accessed frequently to reduce costs
8. Protocol knowledge: EFS uses NFS protocol - this may appear in questions about compatibility or connectivity