AWS Snow Family is a collection of physical devices designed to help organizations migrate large amounts of data to AWS and enable edge computing in disconnected or remote environments. The family consists of three main devices: AWS Snowcone, AWS Snowball, and AWS Snowmobile.
AWS Snowcone is the s…AWS Snow Family is a collection of physical devices designed to help organizations migrate large amounts of data to AWS and enable edge computing in disconnected or remote environments. The family consists of three main devices: AWS Snowcone, AWS Snowball, and AWS Snowmobile.
AWS Snowcone is the smallest and most portable device, weighing 4.5 pounds with 8TB of usable storage or 14TB with SSD. It is ideal for edge computing, data collection, and transferring data in space-constrained environments.
AWS Snowball comes in two versions: Snowball Edge Storage Optimized (80TB usable storage) and Snowball Edge Compute Optimized (42TB usable storage with more powerful compute capabilities). These devices support local processing and can run EC2 instances and Lambda functions at the edge, making them suitable for data migration projects ranging from terabytes to petabytes.
AWS Snowmobile is an exabyte-scale data transfer service using a 45-foot shipping container transported by a semi-trailer truck. It can transfer up to 100PB per Snowmobile and is designed for massive data center migrations.
Key benefits of Snow Family include overcoming network bandwidth limitations, reducing transfer costs compared to high-speed internet connections, providing encryption for data security during transit, and enabling edge computing capabilities in locations with limited connectivity.
For workload migration and modernization, Snow Family devices accelerate the migration timeline by eliminating lengthy data transfers over networks. Organizations can use these devices to move historical data, database backups, archives, and application data to AWS. The devices integrate with AWS services like S3, allowing seamless data import into the cloud.
When planning migrations, architects should consider data volume, timeline requirements, available network bandwidth, and whether edge computing capabilities are needed to select the appropriate Snow Family device for their specific use case.
AWS Snow Family
Why AWS Snow Family is Important
AWS Snow Family is critical for scenarios where transferring large amounts of data over the network is impractical due to limited bandwidth, high costs, or time constraints. For the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam, understanding Snow Family devices demonstrates your ability to design hybrid architectures and solve real-world data migration challenges. Many organizations have petabytes of data that would take months or years to transfer over standard internet connections, making physical data transfer essential.
What is AWS Snow Family?
AWS Snow Family is a collection of physical devices designed to help move large amounts of data into and out of AWS, as well as perform edge computing tasks. The family includes:
AWS Snowcone - The smallest device (8TB HDD or 14TB SSD), portable and rugged, weighing 4.5 lbs. Ideal for edge computing, data collection, and migration in space-constrained environments. Can be powered by USB-C or optional battery.
AWS Snowball Edge - Available in two variants: - Storage Optimized: 80TB usable storage, 40 vCPUs, suited for large-scale data transfers - Compute Optimized: 42TB usable storage, 52 vCPUs, optional GPU, ideal for ML inference and edge computing
AWS Snowmobile - An exabyte-scale data transfer service using a 45-foot shipping container transported by a truck. Can transfer up to 100PB per Snowmobile.
How AWS Snow Family Works
1. Request a device through the AWS Management Console 2. AWS ships the device to your location with pre-configured security credentials 3. Connect the device to your local network and transfer data using the Snowball client or AWS OpsHub 4. Ship the device back to AWS using the E Ink shipping label 5. AWS uploads your data to the specified S3 bucket 6. AWS performs a secure wipe of the device following NIST guidelines
Data is encrypted using 256-bit encryption keys managed through AWS KMS. The devices are tamper-resistant and include a Trusted Platform Module (TPM).
Key Features and Capabilities
- AWS OpsHub: Graphical interface for managing Snow devices - S3-compatible endpoint: Allows local S3 API operations on Snowball Edge - EC2-compatible instances: Run compute workloads on Snowball Edge devices - AWS IoT Greengrass support: Enable IoT workloads at the edge - Clustering: Combine multiple Snowball Edge devices for increased storage and durability
When to Use Each Device
Snowcone: Remote locations with limited space, data collection in harsh environments, transferring less than 24TB
Snowball Edge: Data migrations between 10TB and petabyte scale, edge computing with local processing requirements, disconnected environments needing compute
Snowmobile: Exabyte-scale migrations, data center shutdowns, transfers exceeding 10PB where multiple Snowballs become impractical
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on AWS Snow Family
1. Know the capacity thresholds: Questions often test whether you can select the right device based on data volume. Remember: Snowcone for small transfers, Snowball Edge for TB to PB scale, Snowmobile for 10PB+
2. Understand the compute capabilities: Snowball Edge Compute Optimized is the answer when edge computing, ML inference, or running EC2 instances at remote locations is mentioned
3. Consider the network bandwidth: If a question mentions slow or unreliable internet connections, limited bandwidth, or time-sensitive large data transfers, Snow Family is likely the answer
4. Security is built-in: All Snow devices use encryption at rest with KMS keys. This makes them suitable for sensitive data migrations
5. Watch for edge computing scenarios: Disconnected environments, ships, mining sites, or factories often indicate Snowball Edge or Snowcone solutions
6. Calculate transfer times: If the question provides data size and bandwidth, calculate how long network transfer would take. If it exceeds acceptable timeframes, choose Snow Family
7. Clustering questions: When high availability at the edge is required, remember that Snowball Edge devices can be clustered for increased durability
8. DataSync integration: Snowcone supports AWS DataSync agent for online data transfer after initial Snow transfer
9. OpsHub for management: When questions mention simplified management or GUI-based operations for Snow devices, OpsHub is the answer