AMAZON STORAGE GATEWAY

With the cloud migration and adoption trend still going strong, many enterprises have relocated entire environments to the cloud. However, there are many firms that still heavily rely on legacy on-premises data centers and server systems. Many times, this is due to compliances or licensing compliances that force them to continue working with on-site hardware. A hybrid cloud system is the apt solution in this case.

In this article, we understand AWS' hybrid cloud solution- Storage Gateway, understanding what it does, and how it can help your business.

So, what is AWS Storage Gateway?

Storage Gateway is a 'hybrid cloud storage solution', which is deployed on premise and helps you to utilize AWS?cloud storage services like S3, Glacier, and EBS. Deployed as a VM (Virtual Machine) or a hardware gateway appliance, Storage Gateway gives you on-premises access to virtually unlimited cloud storage. It uses storage protocols like Network File System (NFS), Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI), and Server Message Block (SMB)- providing optimized data transfer capabilities among other features.???

Using Storage Gateway reduces overhead costs like maintenance of on-premises storage solution- which is generally a major spending. Removing upfront hardware costs and moving to an operational expenses model enables businesses to be more flexible and allows them to rely on other important cloud services. Thanks to Storage Gateway's local caching feature, it offers low latency network and disk performance- with encryption, data protection and bandwidth management as additional features.

How does AWS Storage Gateway Function?

Depending on a business' requirement, Storage Gateway provides three types of storage interfaces for on-premises applications:

1. File Gateway:

a) Amazon S3 File Gateway: This enables a business to store and retrieve objects in Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) using file protocols such as Network File System (NFS) and Server Message Block (SMB). Objects written through S3 File Gateway can be directly accessed in S3.

b) Amazon FSx File Gateway: This allows you to store and retrieve files in Amazon FSx for Windows File Server using the SMB protocol. Files written through Amazon FSx File Gateway are directly accessible in Amazon FSx for Windows File Server.

2. Volume Gateway: This provides block storage for your on-premises applications with the help of iSCSI connectivity. Data on the volumes is stored in Amazon S3 and you can take point-in-time copies of volumes that are stored in AWS as Amazon EBS snapshots. You can also take copies of volumes and manage their retention using AWS Backup. You can restore EBS snapshots to a Volume Gateway volume or an EBS volume.

3. Tape Gateway: This type provides backup applications with an iSCSI virtual tape library interface, consisting of a virtual media changer, virtual tape drives, and virtual tapes. Virtual tapes are stored in Amazon S3 and can be archived to Amazon S3 Glacier or Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

Accessibility and Convenience

AWS provides two options to access Storage Gateway- AWS Management Console, and a gateway that is fronted as a Virtual Machine or as a physical Hardware appliance.

You can use the AWS Management Console to download the virtual appliance gateway or purchase the hardware appliance, configure storage, and manage and monitor the service. The gateway connects your applications to AWS storage by providing standard storage interfaces. It provides transparent caching, efficient data transfer, and integration with AWS monitoring and security services.

The Storage Gateway appliance deployed on-premises, ranges from a virtual machine containing the Storage Gateway software on VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Linux KVM, or the Storage Gateway can be deployed as a hardware appliance. You can also deploy the Storage Gateway VM in VMware Cloud on AWS, or as an AMI in Amazon EC2.

Use Case and Examples of AWS Storage Gateway

Use Cases:

- move backups and archives to the cloud

- reduce on-premises storage with cloud-backed file shares

- provide on-premises applications low-latency access to data stored in AWS

- data lake access for pre and post processing workflows

- Disaster Recovery

Examples:

Ryanair:?Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline group, carrying 154 million guests on more than 2,400 daily flights from 80+ bases. They make use of the Tape Storage Gateway Service provided by AWS. The reason being the unreliability of physical tape- and an estimated 65% drop in operational costs, while making it a simpler process to add and change tapes at the same time.

Bristol Myers Squibb: A global biopharmaceutical company that has developed, produced and delivered medicines to patients who need them. Bristol Myers Squibb has been using Amazon S3 and Storage Gateway for years, moving hundreds of terabytes of scientific data from their local premises to the AWS Cloud, daily. The AWS services being efficient, reliable, flexible and cost-effective assists them even more, while reducing their dependency on hardware infrastructure. They rely on AWS Storage Gateway’s File Gateway as the main engine for raw data transfer from scientific instruments to S3 cloud storage. The data resides and is processed in Amazon S3 where other applications in AWS can be accessed across multiple Regions.

Kellogg: Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavoured snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. Kellogg products are manufactured in 18 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries. Using their old, traditional backup system, and current system using File Gateway to store and retrieve data in S3, they had about 90% reduction in cost.

How can Ataloud help?

Connect with an Ataloud consultant today ([email protected]) for a seamless experience for your business' transition to the cloud. We can analyse, discuss and help validate your AWS billing and usage patterns, perform routine audits, perform log analysis, analyse and monitor performances- on top of the other managed services that we offer.?