19. Snowball

Snowball is a petabyte-scale data transport solution that uses secure appliances to transfer large amounts of data into and out of AWS. Using Snowball addresses common challenges with large-scale data transfers including high n/w costs, long transfer times, and security concerns. Transferring data with Snowball is simple, fast, secure and can be as little as one-fifth the cost of high-speed internet.
Snowball comes in either a 50TB or 80TB size. Snowball uses multiple layers of security designed to protect your data including tamper-resistant enclosures, 256-bit encryption, and an industry-standard Trusted Platform Module (TPM) designed to ensure both security and full chain-of-custody of your data. Once the data transfer job has been processed and verified, AWS performs a s/w erasure of the Snowball appliance.

Snowball Edge: Is a 100TB data transfer device with on-board storage and compute capabilities. We can use Snowball edge to move large amounts of data into and out of AWS, as a temporary storage tier for large local datasets, or to support local workloads in remote or offline locations. Snowball edge connects to your existing applications and infrastructure using standard storage interfaces, streamlining the data transfer process and minimizing setup and integration. Snowball Edge can cluster together to form a local storage tier and process your data on-premises, helping ensure your applications continue to run even when they are not able to access the cloud.
Snowball Edge Storage Optimized is the optimal choice if you need to securely and quickly transfer dozens of terabytes to petabytes of data to AWS. It provides up to 80 TB of usable HDD storage, 40 vCPUs, 1 TB of SATA SSD storage, and up to 40 Gb network connectivity to address large scale data transfer and pre-processing use cases.
As each Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device can handle 80TB of data, you can order 10 such devices to take care of the data transfer for all applications.

Snowmobile: Is an exabyte-scale data transfer service used to move extremely large amounts of data to AWS. We can transfer up yo 100PB per Snowmobile, a 45-foot long ruggedized shipping container, pulled by a semi-trailer truck. Snowmobile makes it easy to move massive volumes of data to the cloud, including video libraries, image repositories, or even a complete data center migration. Transferring data with Snowmobile is secure, fast and cost effective.

Question 1:
A video analytics organization has been acquired by a leading media company. The analytics organization has 10 independent applications with an on-premises data footprint of about 70TB for each application. The CTO of the media company has set a timeline of two weeks to carry out the data migration from on-premises data center to AWS Cloud and establish connectivity.
Which of the following are the MOST cost-effective options for completing the data transfer and establishing connectivity? (Select two)
Options:
A. Order 1 Snowmobile to complete the one-time data transfer
B. Setup AWS direct connect to establish connectivity between the on-premises data center and AWS Cloud
C. Order 70 Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to complete the one-time data transfer
D. Setup Site-to-Site VPN to establish connectivity between the on-premises data center and AWS Cloud
E. Order 10 Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to complete the one-time data transfer
Answer: D & E
Explanation
Correct options:
Order 10 Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to complete the one-time data transfer
Snowball Edge Storage Optimized is the optimal choice if you need to securely and quickly transfer dozens of terabytes to petabytes of data to AWS. It provides up to 80 TB of usable HDD storage, 40 vCPUs, 1 TB of SATA SSD storage, and up to 40 Gb network connectivity to address large scale data transfer and pre-processing use cases.
As each Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device can handle 80TB of data, you can order 10 such devices to take care of the data transfer for all applications.
Exam Alert:
The original Snowball devices were transitioned out of service and Snowball Edge Storage Optimized are now the primary devices used for data transfer. You may see the Snowball device on the exam, just remember that the original Snowball device had 80TB of storage space.
Setup Site-to-Site VPN to establish connectivity between the on-premises data center and AWS Cloud
AWS Site-to-Site VPN enables you to securely connect your on-premises network or branch office site to your Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC). You can securely extend your data center or branch office network to the cloud with an AWS Site-to-Site VPN connection. A VPC VPN Connection utilizes IPSec to establish encrypted network connectivity between your intranet and Amazon VPC over the Internet. VPN Connections can be configured in minutes and are a good solution if you have an immediate need, have low to modest bandwidth requirements, and can tolerate the inherent variability in Internet-based connectivity.
Therefore this option is the right fit for the given use-case as the connectivity can be easily established within the given timeframe.
Incorrect options:
Order 1 Snowmobile to complete the one-time data transfer – Each Snowmobile has a total capacity of up to 100 petabytes. To migrate large datasets of 10PB or more in a single location, you should use Snowmobile. For datasets less than 10PB or distributed in multiple locations, you should use Snowball. So Snowmobile is not the right fit for this use-case.
Setup AWS direct connect to establish connectivity between the on-premises data center and AWS Cloud – AWS Direct Connect lets you establish a dedicated network connection between your network and one of the AWS Direct Connect locations. Using industry-standard 802.1q VLANs, this dedicated connection can be partitioned into multiple virtual interfaces. AWS Direct Connect does not involve the Internet; instead, it uses dedicated, private network connections between your intranet and Amazon VPC. Direct Connect involves significant monetary investment and takes at least a month to set up, therefore it’s not the correct fit for this use-case.
Order 70 Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to complete the one-time data transfer – As the data-transfer can be completed with just 10 Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices, there is no need to order 70 devices.

Question 2:
You would like to use Snowball to move on-premises backups into a long term archival tier on AWS. Which solution provides the MOST cost savings?
Options:
A• Create a Snowball job and target a Glacier Deep Archive Vault
B• Create a Snowball job and target an S3 bucket. Create a lifecycle policy to immediately move data to Glacier
C• Create a Snowball job and target an S3 bucket. Create a lifecycle policy to immediately move data to Glacier Deep Archive
D• Create a Snowball job and target a Glacier Vault
Answer: C
Explanation
Correct option:
Create a Snowball job and target an S3 bucket. Create a lifecycle policy to immediately move data to Glacier Deep Archive
AWS Snowball, a part of the AWS Snow Family, is a data migration and edge computing device that comes in two options. Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices provide both block storage and Amazon S3-compatible object storage, and 40 vCPUs. They are well suited for local storage and large scale data transfer. Snowball Edge Compute Optimized devices provide 52 vCPUs, block and object storage, and an optional GPU for use cases like advanced machine learning and full-motion video analysis in disconnected environments.
Snowball Edge Storage Optimized is the optimal choice if you need to securely and quickly transfer dozens of terabytes to petabytes of data to AWS. It provides up to 80 TB of usable HDD storage, 40 vCPUs, 1 TB of SATA SSD storage, and up to 40 Gb network connectivity to address large scale data transfer and pre-processing use cases.
The original Snowball devices were transitioned out of service and Snowball Edge Storage Optimized are now the primary devices used for data transfer. You may see the Snowball device on the exam, just remember that the original Snowball device had 80TB of storage space.
You can’t move data directly from Snowball into Glacier, you need to go through S3 first, and then use a lifecycle policy. So this option is correct.
Incorrect options:
Create a Snowball job and target a Glacier Vault
Create a Snowball job and target a Glacier Deep Archive Vault
Amazon S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive are a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost Amazon S3 cloud storage classes for data archiving and long-term backup. They are designed to deliver 99.999999999% durability and provide comprehensive security and compliance capabilities that can help meet even the most stringent regulatory requirements. Finally, Glacier Deep Archive provides more cost savings than Glacier.
Both these options are incorrect as you can’t move data directly from Snowball into a Glacier Vault or a Glacier Deep Archive Vault. You need to go through S3 first and then use a lifecycle policy.
Create a Snowball job and target an S3 bucket. Create a lifecycle policy to immediately move data to Glacier – As Glacier Deep Archive provides more cost savings than Glacier, so you should use Glacier Deep Archive for long term archival for this use-case.