AWS Hands-On | S3 Introduction | S3 Storage Classes

📌 Notice

This is a hands-on tutorial accompanying the blog post:

“Pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Certification SAA-C03-(Episode 10: S3 Introduction)”

🔹 Focus: Practical implementation of Amazon S3.
🔹 For theoretical concepts and exam-style questions, please refer to the main blog post (link to parent blog).

Here’s a step-by-step guide to working with S3 Storage Classes, based on the provided content:

Objective: Understand different S3 storage classes, how to assign them during upload, how to change them for existing objects, and how to automate transitions using lifecycle rules.

Prerequisites:

✔ An AWS account with access to Amazon S3.
✔ A sample file (e.g., coffee.jpeg) to upload.

Step 1: Create a New S3 Bucket

1. Navigate to S3: Go to the Amazon S3 console.
2. Create Bucket: Click “Create bucket”.
3. Configure Bucket Details:

• Bucket name: s3-storage-classes-demos-2025 (or a unique name of your choice).
• AWS Region: Choose any region you prefer.
• Leave other settings as default for this demo.

4. Create Bucket: Click “Create bucket”

Step 2: Upload an Object and Assign a Storage Class

1. Navigate to the New Bucket: Go to your newly created bucket (s3-mino-storage-classes-demos-2025).
2. Upload Object: Click “Upload”, then “Add files”, and select coffee.jpeg (or your chosen file).
3. Review “Properties” (Optional but Recommended): Before uploading, click “Options” or “Properties” next to your file.
4. Choose Storage Class: Under “Storage class”, observe the various options:

• S3 Standard: Default, highly available, frequently accessed.
• S3 Intelligent-Tiering: Automatically moves data between tiers based on access patterns.
• S3 Standard-IA: Infrequently accessed, but with low latency retrieval.
• S3 One Zone-IA: Infrequently accessed, stored in a single Availability Zone (AZ) — lower cost, but data loss risk if AZ fails.
• S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval: Archival for milliseconds retrieval.
• S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval: Archival for minutes to hours retrieval.
• S3 Glacier Deep Archive: Lowest cost archival for hours retrieval.
• Reduced Redundancy: Deprecated.

5. Select a Storage Class: For this step, choose S3 Standard-IA.

• Complete Upload: Click “Upload”.

Observation: After the upload, you’ll see coffee.jpeg listed in your bucket with its "Storage class" clearly indicated as Standard-IA.

Step 3: Change an Existing Object’s Storage Class

1. Select the Object: In your bucket, select the coffee.jpeg object by checking its box.
2. Go to “Properties”: Click on the “Properties” tab.
3. Edit Storage Class: Scroll down to the “Storage class” section and click “Edit”.
4. Choose New Storage Class: From the dropdown, select S3 One Zone-IA.
5. Save Changes: Click “Save changes”.

Observation: The object’s storage class will now update to One Zone-IA in the S3 console. You can repeat this process to change it to other classes like Glacier Instant Retrieval or Intelligent-Tiering.

Step 4: Automate Storage Class Transitions with a Lifecycle Rule

1. Go to “Management” Tab: In your bucket (s3-mino-storage-classes-demos-2025), click the "Management" tab.
2. Create Lifecycle Rule: Under “Lifecycle rules”, click “Create lifecycle rule”.
3. Configure Rule Details:

• Lifecycle rule name: DemoRule (or a descriptive name).
• Rule scope: Choose “Apply to all objects in the bucket”.
• Lifecycle rule actions

Lifecycle rule actions

• Check “Transition current versions of objects between storage classes”.
• Click “Add transition”.

Transition 1:

• Choose storage class: Select Standard-IA.
• Days after creation: Enter 30. (This means after 30 days, the object moves from its current tier to Standard-IA).
• Click “Add transition” again.

Transition 2:

• Choose storage class: Select Intelligent-Tiering.
• Days after creation: Enter 60. (This means after 60 days, the object moves from the previous tier to Intelligent-Tiering).
• Click “Add transition” again.

Transition 3:

• Choose storage class: Select Glacier Flexible Retrieval.
• Days after creation: Enter 180. (This means after 180 days, the object moves to Glacier Flexible Retrieval).

4. Create Rule: Click “Create rule”.

Explanation: This rule automatically moves your objects through different storage classes over time, optimizing cost based on assumed access patterns without manual intervention.

Conclusion:

You have successfully explored Amazon S3 storage classes by:

• Assigning a specific storage class during object upload.
• Manually changing the storage class of an existing object.
• Creating a lifecycle rule to automate transitions between storage classes over time. This demonstrates the flexibility and cost-optimization capabilities offered by S3’s diverse storage options.

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