What Is AWS Storage? A Complete Learning Journey Through AWS Educate

In today’s data-driven world, the value of data depends largely on how it’s stored and managed. Selecting the right cloud storage strategy is now a fundamental skill for developers, system administrators, and data professionals. I began this journey through AWS Educate, learning both the theoretical background and practical tools provided by AWS’s powerful storage services.

Below, I share the key insights from this course based on my own learning experience. This post is not a professional-level guide, but a personal, beginner-friendly summary of how I learned the basics of AWS storage concepts with real simulations and examples.

Introduction to Cloud Storage: Why the Cloud?

The course starts by highlighting why cloud storage has become essential. Compared to traditional infrastructure, cloud storage offers scalability, high availability, and reduced operational burden. AWS stands out by providing globally accessible, resilient, and cost-effective solutions. For anyone transitioning from on-prem systems or starting fresh, this section provides strong foundational understanding.

Types of Storage and Where to Use Them

AWS offers three major types of storage:

• Block Storage (Amazon EBS): Used for high-performance applications like databases, with low latency.
• Object Storage (Amazon S3): Ideal for unstructured data such as backups, media files, and logs.
• File Storage (Amazon EFS): Designed for applications requiring shared access with parallel reads and writes.

The course walks through when and why to use each type. Simulations helped reinforce scenarios where one option clearly outperforms the others in terms of cost, speed, or durability.

Deep Dive into Amazon S3

Amazon S3 was covered extensively, and for good reason—it’s one of AWS’s most widely used services.

• Buckets and Objects: Files are stored as objects in buckets, each with a unique key.
• Storage Classes: From Standard to Glacier Deep Archive, each class balances cost with frequency of access.
• Lifecycle Rules: Automate transitions between storage classes or delete objects after a set time.
• Multipart Uploads: Support for large files and reliable uploads.
• Versioning: Prevents data loss by keeping old versions of objects.
• Encryption: Both server-side (SSE-S3, SSE-KMS) and client-side options are available.

Hands-on labs guided me through creating buckets, uploading files, setting permissions, enabling encryption, and configuring lifecycle policies.

Replication and Regional Strategies

Replication—both within the same region and across different AWS regions—was explored in detail. I learned how to set up rules for cross-region replication (CRR), a key feature for compliance, disaster recovery, and low-latency access in global systems.

Security and Access Control

Security is integrated into AWS at every layer. We explored:

• IAM roles and policies to control access
• Bucket policies and ACLs for fine-grained permissions
• Encryption at rest and in transit
• Object ownership and managing permissions at the object level

The practical simulations helped clarify how permissions affect access and how to lock down sensitive data.

Working with Objects and Tags

Beyond basic operations like uploading or deleting files, we learned how to organize data using tags, implement logging, use object lock, and manage versions. These features are essential for operational visibility and regulatory compliance.

Understanding Cost Structures

Amazon S3 pricing depends on:

• Storage space used (GB)
• Number and type of requests (PUT, GET, etc.)
• Outbound data transfer

This section emphasized the importance of optimizing storage class selection and lifecycle policies to control costs effectively.

Other AWS Storage Services

The course also introduced:

• Amazon EBS: Block-level storage with snapshot support and performance tuning.
• Amazon EFS: Shared file system for scalable, parallel access.
• Volume types (SSD/HDD): Choosing based on performance and cost.
• Data Migration: Using tools like AWS Snowball to move large datasets into the cloud.

A Solid First Step

This course was far more than a simple overview. It combined theory with hands-on simulation to provide a real, interactive learning experience. Learning how AWS S3, EBS, and EFS work together gave me practical confidence in how to approach cloud storage design.

If you’re just starting out—like I am—these AWS Educate resources are a helpful and completely free way to build your foundational skills. While these basics alone won’t be enough to pass advanced certifications like AWS Certified SysOps Administrator or Security – Specialty, they are a great entry point to begin that journey.