Amazon S3 Storage Classes

MSP360 Backup for Windows fully supports Amazon S3 storage classes including:

• Standard
• Intelligent-Tiering
• Standard-IA
• One Zone-IA
• Glacier Flexible Retrieval
• Glacier Instant Retrieval
• Glacier Deep Archive

With the S3 Glacier storage class, you can back up files directly to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval. Amazon S3 offers different storage classes for different purposes. The proper selection of a storage class allows you to reduce your storage costs for data that is rarely used and does not require instant access.

All classes have a high level of reliability and support SSL data encryption during transmission but differ by their cost.

Below you can find the detailed description of the supported storage classes:

• S3 Standard. This storage class is designed for frequently used data storage. It delivers low latency and high throughput, thus, S3 Standard is an appropriate choice for the widest range of storage use cases: for a large number of files, in particular. The storage class does not have a minimum capacity charge per object, an early deletion fee, and a fee for synthetic backups. Compared to other storage classes, S3 Standard cost for stored data is the highest.
• S3 Standard-Infrequent Access. This storage class is designed for data that is accessed less frequently but requires rapid access when needed. This storage class offers the high durability, high throughput, and low latency of S3 Standard, with a low per GB storage price and per GB retrieval fee. The S3 Standard-IA storage class requires a minimum storage period of 30 days and is optimal for file backups larger than 128 KB due to the storage class policy.
• S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access. This storage class is 20% less expensive than Amazon S3 Standard-IA due to lesser availability—99.5% within a year. The S3 Standard-IA storage class requires a minimum storage period of 30 days and is optimal for file backups larger than 128 KB due to the storage class policy. It’s a good choice for storing secondary backup copies of on-premises data or easily re-creatable data
• S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval. This new storage class delivers the fastest access to archive storage, with the same throughput and milliseconds access as the S3 Standard and S3 Standard-IA storage classes. This class may be susceptible to data loss in the unlikely case of the loss or damage to all or part of an AWS Availability Zone.
• S3 Intelligent-Tiering. This storage class works by storing objects in two access tiers: one tier that is optimized for frequent access and another lower-cost tier that is optimized for infrequent access. Once you put objects in the S3 Intelligent-Tiering storage class, AWS will monitor and move your data to the proper storage tier on a per-object basis. If your object hasn’t been accessed within 30 days, AWS will move it to the Infrequent Access storage tier. If the object is then accessed after being moved to the Infrequent Access tier, AWS will move it back to the Standard storage class
• Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (formerly S3 Glacier). This storage class is a solution for long-term storage and archiving of data which don’t require instant access. You can reliably store any amount of data at costs that are competitive with or cheaper than on-premises solutions. The S3 Glacier storage class requires a minimum storage period of 90 days and limits the minimum size of the object to 40 KB. The data retrieval time for this storage class may vary depending on retrieval type (Bulk, Standard or Expedited) and is implemented from 1 minute (Expedited retrieval type) to 12 hours (Bulk retrieval type)
• Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive. This storage class is Amazon S3’s lowest-cost storage class and supports long-term retention and digital preservation for data that is accessed rarely in a year. The S3 Glacier Deep Archive functionally is similar to S3 Glacier, except for a longer retrieval time and requires a minimum storage period of 180 days. The data retrieval time for this storage class may vary depending on retrieval type (Bulk or Standard) and is implemented within 48 hours (Bulk retrieval type)

Storage Class Limitations for Backup Purposes

The table below shows what storage classes are recommended for specific backup plan types.

Storage Class	Files Backup	Image-Based Backup	FFI (Synthetic Full Backup)
S3 Standard	✔️	✔️	✔️
S3 Standard-Infrequent Access	✔️	✔️	❌
S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access	✔️	✔️	❌
S3 Intelligent-Tiering	✔️	✔️	❌
S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval	✔️	❌	❌
S3 Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval	✔️	❌	❌
S3 Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive	✔️	❌	❌

Key Factors Affecting Additional Data Retrieval Costs

When restoring data from Amazon S3, particularly from Glacier or Glacier Deep Archive, additional data retrievals refer to extra charges incurred when retrieving data beyond the free or standard limits. These costs depend on several factors:

1. Storage Class:
   • S3 Standard, Intelligent-Tiering, and One Zone-IA: No additional retrieval costs, only request and data transfer fees.
   • S3 Glacier & Glacier Deep Archive: Retrieval costs vary by speed (Expedited, Standard, or Bulk).
2. Retrieval Type:
   • Expedited: Fastest but most expensive.
   • Standard: Balanced cost and speed.
   • Bulk: Cheapest but slowest.
3. Data Retrieved Beyond Free Limits:
   • Some retrievals have free tiers (e.g., 10 GB per month from Glacier).
   • Exceeding the free tier incurs charges per GB.
4. Request Fees:
   • Charged per 1,000 requests (GET, LIST, etc.).
5. Early Deletion Fees:
   • If objects are deleted before their minimum storage duration (e.g., 90 days for Glacier), Amazon charges early deletion fees.

If you're restoring backups from Amazon S3 Glacier, ensure that:

• You choose the most cost-effective retrieval tier.
• You optimize retrieval frequency to avoid unnecessary fees.
• You monitor free retrieval limits to minimize costs.

Visit the Amazon website for the information on data retrieval costs (per GB) from long-term storage classes.

MSP360 Backup for Windows entirely supports S3 lifecycle policies. To learn more, visit the Lifecyle Policies page of this guide.

Amazon S3 Storage Pricing

To learn about Amazon S3 storage pricing, visit the Cloud storage pricing page.