AWS Storage & Backup

Amazon EBS

High-performance block storage volumes (virtual disks) for EC2 instances, with snapshots.

What is Amazon EBS?

Elastic Block Store provides virtual disks for EC2. Volumes keep their data when the instance stops, can be resized, and can be backed up with point-in-time snapshots.

Key features

  • SSD (gp3, io2) and HDD volume types
  • Independent IOPS and throughput settings on gp3
  • Snapshots and fast snapshot restore
  • Encryption with KMS
  • Multi-Attach for some io2 volumes

What it is used for

  • Server boot disks
  • Database storage
  • Application data volumes

When to use it

  • Boot and data disks for EC2
  • Databases you run yourself
  • Low-latency storage for a single server

When something else fits better

  • Files shared by many servers (use EFS)
  • Large amounts of static files (S3 is cheaper)

How pricing works

Charged per GB-month of provisioned storage, plus provisioned IOPS/throughput where applicable, and snapshot storage. Prices change and differ by region; we confirm current costs for your setup before you commit.

Equivalent on Google Cloud

The closest Google Cloud service is Persistent Disk & Hyperdisk: durable block storage volumes for Compute Engine and GKE, with snapshots.

How DomainHostly helps with Amazon EBS

  • Plan: choose the right setup, size and region for your workload and budget.
  • Set up securely: configure Amazon EBS with least-privilege access, encryption and backups where they apply.
  • Migrate: move from shared hosting, your own servers or the other cloud with minimal downtime.
  • Run and optimise: monitoring, updates and regular cost reviews so you only pay for what you use.

Storage & Backup: Object, block and file storage, archives and backups for any amount of data.

What to consider: Storage & Backup

  • Match the storage type to the access pattern: object storage for files and backups, block for a server's disk, file storage for shared folders.
  • Use lifecycle rules to move old data to cheaper classes automatically.
  • Turn on versioning or backups and test a restore before you need it.

Related services: Storage & Backup