AWS offers a powerful hybrid cloud storage architecture, combining on-premises storage infrastructure with AWS cloud storage services. This enables businesses to extend, migrate, replicate, or back up data between their data centers and AWS—securely and cost-effectively.
🏗️ Key AWS Services for Hybrid Storage
| AWS Service |
Purpose |
| AWS Storage Gateway |
Bridge on-prem storage with AWS S3, Glacier, EBS |
| AWS DataSync |
Accelerated data transfer to/from AWS |
| AWS Snow Family |
Offline migration of large data volumes |
| Amazon S3 |
Object storage for backups, archives, apps |
| Amazon FSx |
Managed file systems with hybrid support |
| Amazon EFS |
Cloud-native NFS file system |
| AWS Backup |
Centralized backup management |
🔄 Hybrid Storage Use Cases
| Use Case |
Recommended AWS Tools |
| Backup and Archival |
AWS Storage Gateway (Tape Gateway) + S3 Glacier |
| Cloud Bursting for File Systems |
AWS Storage Gateway (File Gateway), FSx, EFS |
| Data Center Evacuation |
AWS Snowball → S3 + Lifecycle to Glacier |
| Migrate workloads |
AWS DataSync + FSx or EFS |
| Edge storage with cloud sync |
Snowcone/Snowball + S3 |
| Shared file storage across hybrid apps |
FSx for ONTAP + NetApp replication |
🚪 1. AWS Storage Gateway
A virtual appliance or hardware device that provides seamless connectivity between on-prem storage and AWS.
Gateway Types:
| Gateway Type |
Purpose |
| File Gateway |
SMB/NFS to S3 |
| Volume Gateway |
iSCSI volumes backed by S3 |
| Tape Gateway |
Emulates physical tape backup with S3 Glacier |
⚡ 2. AWS DataSync
-
Automated, high-speed transfer between on-premises storage and AWS
- Supports NFS, SMB, HDFS
- Built-in encryption, scheduling, and bandwidth throttling
🚚 3. Snow Family (Offline Hybrid)
For bandwidth-constrained environments:
-
Snowcone and Snowball Edge for rugged, portable hybrid deployments
- Run EC2 or Lambda at the edge
- Automatically sync data to AWS once online
🔄 4. Hybrid File Systems (Amazon FSx)
-
FSx for Windows File Server and FSx for ONTAP support Active Directory and data replication from on-prem
- Use SnapMirror with ONTAP for hybrid NAS use cases
☁️ 5. Amazon S3 + Lifecycle + Replication
- On-prem file data → S3 using Gateway or DataSync
- Add:
-
Lifecycle rules to move cold data to Glacier
-
Cross-region replication for DR
-
S3 Object Lock or MFA Delete for compliance
🛡️ Security & Compliance
-
AWS IAM + KMS encryption
-
TLS in-transit, AES-256 at rest
-
CloudTrail & Access Logs
-
SOC, ISO, PCI-DSS compliance across services
💰 Cost Considerations
| Cost Element |
Note |
| Storage costs |
Based on usage (e.g., S3, EBS, FSx) |
| Data transfer (DataSync) |
Charged per GB, free into AWS |
| Snow Family |
Device rental + shipping |
| Storage Gateway |
Charged per GB for virtual tape or files |
📊 Sample Architecture: On-Prem → S3 + Glacier
✅ Summary
| Objective |
Recommended AWS Service |
| Seamless hybrid file share |
AWS Storage Gateway, FSx |
| Fast large-scale transfer |
AWS DataSync |
| Offline sync from edge |
Snowball/Snowcone |
| Central backup/archive |
S3, Glacier, AWS Backup |
