Understanding the AWS Snow Family - Snowcone, Snowball Edge and Snowmobile

Introduction

In today’s data-driven world, businesses and organizations face the continuous challenge of efficiently managing vast data. Whether it’s migrating terabytes (TB) of information to the cloud, operating in remote locations with limited internet connectivity, or ensuring data is processed close to where it's generated, the AWS Snow Family offers a suite of solutions tailored to these needs. Let's dive into the Snow Family members—Snowcone, Snowball Edge, and Snowmobile—exploring why they are essential when to use each, their available versions, what charges apply, and their use cases like data migration and edge computing.

Why the AWS Snow Family?

The AWS Snow Family delivers robust, large-scale physical data transport solutions that are tailor-made to navigate bandwidth restrictions and elevated network costs often associated with moving large volumes of data to AWS via the Internet. The devices can handle anywhere from a few terabytes to multiple petabytes of data in a single shipment.

Furthermore, Snow Family devices, including Snowcone and Snowball Edge, are equipped to facilitate edge computing. Edge computing is a distributed computing approach that positions processing power and data storage closer to the data's origin. Essentially, these devices can serve as extensions of your data centres, catering to additional computing needs on-site.

The Family Members

• Snowcone: The smallest and most portable member of the Snow Family, designed for edge computing and data transfer in space-constrained environments. It comes in two versions: Snowcone with 8 TB of HDD storage and Snowcone SSD with 14 TB of SSD storage. Its lightweight design (4.5 pounds) makes it ideal for mobile applications and can withstand harsh environments.

• Snowball Edge: A more substantial solution for moving TBs or PBs of data in or out of AWS. It's available in two versions: Storage Optimized, offering 80 TB of HDD capacity, and Compute Optimized, with 42 TB of HDD or 28 TB of NVMe storage. Snowball Edge devices provide block and Amazon S3-compatible object storage, suitable for large data cloud migrations, data centre decommissions, and disaster recovery.

• Snowmobile: A truck filled with storage capacity that can transport up to an exabyte of data in a single trip. It's the go-to option for moving more than 10 PB of data, providing high security, temperature control, GPS tracking, and 24/7 video surveillance.

Use Cases

Data Migration

• Snowcone: Ideal for smaller data transfer jobs or edge computing needs in remote or mobile settings.
• Snowball Edge: Suited for transferring large datasets directly into and out of AWS, bypassing internet bandwidth limitations.
• Snowmobile: Best for massive data migration projects, capable of moving exabytes of data efficiently.

Edge Computing

• Snowcone & Snowball Edge: Both devices support edge computing, allowing data processing close to the source. Snowcone is tailored for lighter, more portable needs, while Snowball Edge offers more computing power and storage for intensive tasks.

The Usage Process

The process involves requesting a Snowball device via the AWS console, installing the necessary client software, transferring data, and returning the device to AWS for data upload. The devices are securely wiped after each use.

AWS OpsHub

AWS OpsHub simplifies managing Snow Family devices, offering a graphical interface for device configuration, file transfers, and monitoring. It represents a significant evolution from the command-line interfaces previously required.

Device Usage and Data Transfer Costs

The AWS Snow Family pricing model includes fixed charges for device usage over a specified period, excluding shipping days. Subsequently, users are billed daily for any additional time the device is kept beyond the initial period. Importantly, transferring data from the device to Amazon S3 incurs no charge.

For example, with Snowball Edge, AWS levies a one-time service fee for each job, which covers device usage for a set duration—10 days for the Snowball Edge Storage Optimized 80TB version and 15 days for the 210TB variant. Data transfers from the device to Amazon S3 are complimentary.

Furthermore, AWS incentivises long-term commitments with discounted pricing for edge computing scenarios utilizing Snowcone and Snowball Edge. For example, customers can pay in advance for monthly, 1-year, and 3-year usage plans, resulting in discounts of up to 62%.

Conclusion

The AWS Snow Family offers versatile and robust data migration and edge computing solutions, catering to various needs, from small-scale edge computing tasks with Snowcone to massive data migrations with Snowmobile. Understanding when and how to use these devices can significantly enhance our data management strategies, saving time and reducing costs while ensuring data is where it needs to be, efficiently and securely.