[Seminar] AWS S3 Beginner Guide Tutorial

Welcome to the AWS S3 Beginner Guide Tutorial, organized by ACC SKKU for Sungkyunkwan University students! We are excited to have you join us for this in-depth session where we will explore the fundamental aspects of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), a crucial component of cloud computing and data management.

https://www.meetup.com/aws-cloud-club-in-south-korea/events/302120110/

Introduction to Cloud Computing & AWS S3 (10 minutes)

• Overview of Cloud Computing (Introduction to AWS and its services)
• Introduction to Amazon S3 (Key features and use cases)

Setting Up AWS Account (5 minutes)

• Overview of the S3 dashboard.

Hands-On: Creating and Managing S3 Buckets (15 minutes)

• Creating an S3 Bucket (Naming conventions and region selection)
• Uploading, Organizing, and Managing Objects to S3
• Folder structure and object naming

Understanding S3 Access Control and Permissions (10 minutes)

• Bucket Policies and Access Control Lists (ACLs): Setting up permissions for buckets and objects
• Public vs. Private Buckets (Configuring access levels for your data)

Practical Use Cases and Best Practices (10 minutes)

• Common Use Cases for S3 (Data storage, backup, and hosting static websites)
• Best Practices for S3 Usage (Cost management, security tips, and data lifecycle policies.)

Q&A and Closing Remarks (10 minutes) 

Post Update (Aug 16th, 2024): Following the online seminar, several participants suggested sharing the internal notes we made for the event. I am happy to inform you that we have decided to share our notes through our blog posts, including additional materials we referenced or believe would be beneficial!

Introduction to Amazon S3: A Guide to Cloud Storage

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is one of the most popular cloud storage solutions, offering scalable, secure, and highly durable object storage for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're storing application data, hosting static websites, or backing up critical files, S3 provides a reliable and cost-effective solution.

Key Features of Amazon S3

• Scalability: Store and retrieve any amount of data at any time.

• Durability & Availability: Designed for 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability and 99.99% availability.

• Security: Built-in encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications.

• Flexibility: Supports a wide range of use cases, from data lakes to static website hosting.

• Cost-Effective: Pay only for what you use with multiple storage classes (Standard, Intelligent-Tiering, Glacier, etc.).

Common Use Cases

• Data Storage & Backup: Store files, logs, and backups securely.

• Static Website Hosting: Host websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.

• Data Lakes & Analytics: Store and analyze large datasets.

• Media Hosting: Serve images, videos, and other assets globally.

Understanding S3 Access Control and Permissions

Security is a top priority when using Amazon S3. Properly configuring access controls ensures that only authorized users and applications can interact with your data.

Bucket Policies and Access Control Lists (ACLs)

• Bucket Policies: JSON-based rules that define who can access a bucket and what actions they can perform (e.g., read, write, delete).

• Access Control Lists (ACLs): Legacy permissions system that grants read/write access at the bucket or object level.

Example of a simple bucket policy allowing public read access:

{
  "Version": "2024-08-15",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name/*"
    }
  ]
}

Public vs. Private Buckets

• Public Buckets: Allow open access to objects (e.g., for hosting static websites). Use with caution and only when necessary.

• Private Buckets: Restrict access to specific IAM users, roles, or accounts. Recommended for sensitive data.

Best Practice: Avoid using S3 ACLs—instead, use IAM policies and bucket policies for better security management.

Practical Use Cases and Best Practices

Common Use Cases for Amazon S3

1. Data Storage & Backup

   • Store application files, logs, and databases.

   • Use versioning to recover from accidental deletions.

2. Static Website Hosting

   • Host a website directly from S3 with low latency and high availability.

3. Big Data & Analytics

   • Integrate with AWS services like Athena, Redshift, and EMR for data processing.

4. Disaster Recovery

   • Replicate data across regions using S3 Cross-Region Replication (CRR).

Best Practices for S3 Usage

• Cost Management

  • Use S3 Lifecycle Policies to transition old data to cheaper storage classes (e.g., S3 Glacier).

  • Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering for automatic cost optimization.

• Security Tips

  • Enable Server-Side Encryption (SSE) for data at rest.

  • Use Bucket Versioning to protect against accidental deletions.

  • Restrict public access via S3 Block Public Access settings.

• Data Lifecycle Policies

  • Automatically delete or archive old files to reduce costs.

Example Lifecycle Rule (move to Glacier after 30 days):

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "MoveToGlacierRule",
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Transitions": [
        {
          "Days": 30,
          "StorageClass": "GLACIER"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Conclusion

Amazon S3 is a powerful and flexible storage solution for businesses of all sizes. By understanding access controls, security best practices, and cost optimization strategies, you can leverage S3 effectively for storage, backup, and hosting needs.

Ready to get started? https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/GetStartedWithS3.html