Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) provides persistent block storage volumes for EC2 instances. Understanding EBS volume types is crucial for the AWS SysOps Administrator exam, particularly for deployment and provisioning scenarios.
**General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3):**
These volumes balance price and âŚAmazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) provides persistent block storage volumes for EC2 instances. Understanding EBS volume types is crucial for the AWS SysOps Administrator exam, particularly for deployment and provisioning scenarios.
**General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3):**
These volumes balance price and performance. gp2 offers burst performance up to 3,000 IOPS with a baseline of 3 IOPS per GB. gp3 is newer, providing 3,000 IOPS and 125 MB/s throughput baseline, with the ability to provision up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s independently of volume size.
**Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1/io2):**
Designed for I/O-intensive workloads requiring sustained IOPS performance. io1 supports up to 64,000 IOPS per volume. io2 offers the same performance with improved durability (99.999%). io2 Block Express extends this to 256,000 IOPS. These are ideal for databases like Oracle, SQL Server, and MongoDB.
**Throughput Optimized HDD (st1):**
Low-cost magnetic storage optimized for frequently accessed, throughput-intensive workloads. Maximum throughput is 500 MB/s with a maximum of 500 IOPS. Best suited for big data, data warehouses, and log processing.
**Cold HDD (sc1):**
The lowest cost option for infrequently accessed workloads. Maximum throughput is 250 MB/s with 250 IOPS maximum. Ideal for scenarios where the lowest storage cost is important.
**Key Considerations for SysOps:**
- Boot volumes must be SSD-based (gp2, gp3, io1, io2)
- HDD volumes cannot be boot volumes
- Volume modifications allow changing type, size, and IOPS while attached
- CloudWatch metrics monitor volume performance
- EBS-optimized instances provide dedicated throughput
When automating deployments, selecting the appropriate volume type based on workload requirements ensures optimal performance and cost efficiency.
EBS Volume Types: Complete Guide for AWS SysOps Administrator Associate
Why EBS Volume Types Matter
Understanding EBS (Elastic Block Store) volume types is crucial for AWS SysOps Administrators because selecting the appropriate volume type affects application performance, cost optimization, and system reliability. In production environments, choosing the wrong volume type can lead to performance bottlenecks, unnecessary expenses, or application failures.
What Are EBS Volume Types?
EBS volumes are persistent block storage devices that attach to EC2 instances. AWS offers several volume types optimized for different use cases:
SSD-Backed Volumes:
1. General Purpose SSD (gp3) - Baseline: 3,000 IOPS and 125 MiB/s throughput - Maximum: 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MiB/s throughput - IOPS and throughput can be provisioned separately from storage size - Cost-effective for most workloads - Size: 1 GiB - 16 TiB
2. General Purpose SSD (gp2) - Baseline: 3 IOPS per GiB (minimum 100 IOPS) - Maximum: 16,000 IOPS (at 5,334 GiB and above) - Burst capability up to 3,000 IOPS for volumes under 1,000 GiB - Size: 1 GiB - 16 TiB
4. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1/io2) - Maximum: 64,000 IOPS and 1,000 MiB/s throughput - 50 IOPS per GiB ratio - Size: 4 GiB - 16 TiB - Ideal for databases requiring sustained IOPS
HDD-Backed Volumes:
5. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1) - Maximum: 500 IOPS and 500 MiB/s throughput - Cannot be a boot volume - Size: 125 GiB - 16 TiB - Best for big data, data warehouses, log processing
6. Cold HDD (sc1) - Maximum: 250 IOPS and 250 MiB/s throughput - Cannot be a boot volume - Lowest cost option - Size: 125 GiB - 16 TiB - Best for infrequently accessed data
How EBS Volume Types Work
EBS volumes operate as network-attached storage, meaning they communicate with EC2 instances over the network. Key concepts include:
IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second): Measures random read/write performance. Critical for databases and transactional workloads.
Throughput: Measures sequential read/write performance in MiB/s. Important for streaming and big data workloads.
Burst Credits (gp2): Volumes smaller than 1,000 GiB accumulate credits when operating below baseline, which can be spent during traffic spikes.
Multi-Attach: io1/io2 volumes can attach to multiple instances simultaneously in the same Availability Zone.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on EBS Volume Types
Key Decision Points: - If the question mentions boot volume, eliminate st1 and sc1 as options - If cost optimization is emphasized with infrequent access, choose sc1 - If high IOPS for databases is required, choose io1/io2 - If throughput for big data is needed, choose st1 - If general purpose with flexibility is needed, choose gp3
Common Exam Scenarios: - Database performance issues: Look for IOPS-related solutions (upgrade to io2 or increase provisioned IOPS) - Cost reduction: Consider moving from gp2 to gp3, or from io1 to gp3 if IOPS requirements allow - Burst credit depletion: Increase volume size or switch to gp3/io2
Remember These Numbers: - gp3 baseline: 3,000 IOPS, 125 MiB/s - gp2 baseline formula: 3 IOPS per GiB - io2 maximum: 64,000 IOPS (256,000 for Block Express) - st1/sc1: Cannot be boot volumes
Watch for Trick Questions: - Questions mentioning latency-sensitive applications point toward SSD volumes - Questions about sequential access patterns point toward HDD volumes - Questions about cost with moderate performance often point to gp3