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By default, EBS Volume snapshots on AWS are stored to S3 Standard storage. I would like to figure out how to direct those snapshots to Reduced Redundancy storage instead. I've been trudging through documentation without finding the magic AWS CLI syntax yet.

Thanks!

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Amazon EBS snapshots are stored in Amazon S3. Data stored in S3 is replicated across multiple devices in multiple facilities. (See Amazon S3 FAQ.)

While Amazon S3 defines multiple storage classes, there is no specific mention of the storage class used to store EBS snapshots. However, it would be a fair assumption that it uses Standard Storage (3 facilities, instantly available, no retrieval cost) to ensure high durability of your data.

EBS Snapshots are stored at the block-level and are kept in Amazon's own account rather than your own account. Therefore, you will not see snapshots within the Amazon S3 console; it can be viewed from the Snapshots section of the Amazon EC2 console. Therefore, you have no ability to influence the way in which it is stored.

The cost of EBS snapshots is also independent from the normal cost of Amazon S3. Fortunately only used blocks are stored, data is compressed and snapshots are incremental, so the cost of a snapshot is minimized.

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  • So, compressing and storing my user's files to S3-RR might save me $$, instead of using snapshots of my data volumes?
    – jdelaporte
    May 5, 2016 at 20:16
  • Using Amazon S3 for data storage is preferable to storing data on EBS volumes for several reasons: Redundant storage in multiple locations, no storage limit, ability to serve content directly via HTTP, multiple storage classes, lower cost. May 6, 2016 at 0:16
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As far as I'm aware it's not possible, it uses S3 standard only, and you have no control over it.

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  • That's correct. EBS snapshots are stored in S3, but not in a manner in which you (the user) has control of them.
    – EEAA
    Apr 29, 2016 at 1:20

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