How does the pricing of Amazon EBS volumes vary based on the volume type?

Amazon EBS pricing varies based on the volume type, which impacts cost due to differences in performance and storage characteristics.

The Big Picture

Think of Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) volumes as different types of hard drives you can rent. Some are faster and more expensive, while others are slower but cheaper. Your choice depends on the performance you need for your applications.

Core Concepts

1. Volume Types: Different EBS volumes offer varying levels of performance and cost.
2. Cost Components: Storage cost, IOPS (input/output operations per second), and throughput.
3. Snapshot Costs: Charges for creating and storing snapshots of EBS volumes.

Detailed Walkthrough

Volume Types and Costs

1. General Purpose SSD (gp3 and gp2)

   • gp3: Offers a baseline performance of 3,000 IOPS and 125 MB/s throughput. Costs are around $0.08 per GB-month. Additional IOPS and throughput can be provisioned separately.
   • gp2: Provides a baseline of 3 IOPS per GB, with a burst capability up to 16,000 IOPS for volumes under 1 TB. Costs approximately $0.10 per GB-month.
   • Use Case: Ideal for a wide range of applications, including boot volumes and medium-size databases.

2. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2 and io1)

   • io2: High performance, designed for critical applications requiring sustained IOPS performance. Costs around $0.125 per GB-month plus $0.065 per provisioned IOPS-month.
   • io1: Similar to io2 but with slightly lower performance and durability guarantees. Costs around $0.125 per GB-month plus $0.065 per provisioned IOPS-month.
   • Use Case: Suitable for databases, transactional applications, and workloads requiring high I/O.

3. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1)

   • st1: Optimized for large, sequential workloads. Costs approximately $0.045 per GB-month and $0.012 per MB/s of throughput provisioned per month.
   • Use Case: Good for big data, data warehousing, and log processing.

4. Cold HDD (sc1)

   • sc1: Lowest cost, designed for less frequently accessed data. Costs around $0.015 per GB-month and $0.025 per MB/s of throughput provisioned per month.
   • Use Case: Suitable for infrequently accessed workloads like archival storage.

5. Magnetic Volumes (standard)

   • Standard: Legacy option with limited performance. Costs approximately $0.05 per GB-month and $0.05 per 1 million I/O requests.
   • Use Case: Ideal for infrequent access workloads where performance is not critical.

Snapshot Costs

• Storage Cost: $0.05 per GB-month for storing snapshots in Amazon S3.
• Data Transfer: Charges apply for transferring snapshots across regions or retrieving them.

Understanding Through an Example

Imagine you have a web application with different storage needs:

• General Purpose SSD (gp3): Use gp3 volumes for your web servers and application servers, balancing cost and performance.
• Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2): Store your critical databases on io2 volumes to ensure high I/O performance.
• Throughput Optimized HDD (st1): Use st1 for storing large log files or data warehouse workloads.
• Cold HDD (sc1): Archive old data on sc1 volumes to minimize storage costs.

Conclusion and Summary

Amazon EBS offers a variety of volume types tailored to different performance and cost requirements. By selecting the appropriate volume type based on your application's needs, you can optimize both performance and cost efficiency.

Test Your Understanding

1. How do General Purpose SSD (gp3 and gp2) volumes differ in terms of cost and performance?
2. What type of EBS volume would you choose for a high-transaction database, and why?
3. What are the costs associated with storing snapshots of EBS volumes?

Reference

For detailed and up-to-date information on Amazon EBS pricing, visit the official AWS EBS Pricing page.