Various Amazon EBS volume types

1. EBS Volume Types Overview

EBS volumes are categorized based on performance and cost. Below are the details for each type:

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2. Detailed Descriptions

gp2 (General Purpose SSD)

• Use Case: General-purpose workloads like boot volumes, small/medium databases.

• Performance:

  • Baseline IOPS: 3 IOPS/GB (up to 16,000 IOPS).

  • Bursts up to 3,000 IOPS for small volumes.

• Throughput: Max of 250 MB/s.

• Scaling: Performance scales with size (up to 16 TiB).

gp3 (General Purpose SSD)

• Use Case: Applications requiring predictable performance, databases, or large deployments.

• Performance:

  • Fixed 3,000 IOPS baseline, configurable up to 16,000 IOPS.

  • Throughput configurable up to 1,000 MB/s.

• Advantages over gp2:

  • Cost-effective (lower $/GB).

  • Independent scaling of IOPS and throughput from size.

io1 (Provisioned IOPS SSD)

• Use Case: Mission-critical applications like large databases, SAP HANA, etc.

• Performance:

  • Provisioned IOPS: 100–64,000 (max depends on volume size and instance type).

  • Latency: Low (sub-millisecond).

• Durability: Designed for 99.9% availability.

io2 (Provisioned IOPS SSD)

• Use Case: Enterprise-grade databases, financial systems.

• Performance:

  • Higher durability (99.999% durability).

  • IOPS similar to io1 but with better consistency.

• Cost: Higher than io1 but justified for critical data.

sc1 (Cold HDD)

• Use Case: Infrequently accessed data like archival storage.

• Performance:

  • Baseline throughput: 12 MB/s/TiB (max of 250 MB/s).

  • Designed for sequential workloads.

• Cost: Lowest cost among all types.

• Limitations: Not suitable for random access or latency-sensitive workloads.

st1 (Throughput-Optimized HDD)

• Use Case: Streaming workloads, big data, data warehouses.

• Performance:

  • Baseline throughput: 40 MB/s/TiB (max of 500 MB/s).

  • Designed for high-throughput, sequential workloads.

• Cost: Lower than SSD types but higher than sc1.

Magnetic (Standard)

• Use Case: Legacy workloads, low-cost infrequent access.

• Performance:

  • Throughput: Up to 90 MB/s.

  • Latency: Higher than SSDs.

• Status: Being phased out in favor of modern types.

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3. Comparing Volume Types

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4. Key Considerations

• Choose gp3 over gp2 for cost savings and better configurability.

• Use io1 or io2 for critical, IOPS-intensive workloads.

• Opt for st1 for streaming, sequential data workloads.

• Select sc1 for cold, archival storage needs.

• Avoid using Magnetic unless necessary for legacy systems.