Amazon EBS vs Amazon S3 vs Minio: What are the differences?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers various storage solutions such as Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Minio. Each of these services has its own unique features and capabilities. In this comparison, we will explore the key differences between Amazon EBS, Amazon S3, and Minio.

1. Accessibility: Amazon EBS provides block-level storage volumes that are inherently tied to a specific EC2 instance, making them accessible only from that instance. In contrast, Amazon S3 and Minio offer object storage, which can be accessed from anywhere on the internet using a unique URL. This difference in accessibility makes Amazon EBS suitable for instances requiring direct attached storage, while Amazon S3 and Minio are better suited for storing and sharing data across multiple instances or applications.

2. Durability and Redundancy: Amazon EBS volumes are replicated within the same Availability Zone for durability but do not provide cross-AZ redundancy. On the other hand, Amazon S3 is designed to provide 99.999999999% (11 9s) durability by automatically replicating data across multiple facilities within a region. Similarly, Minio can be configured for distributed, highly available object storage, ensuring data redundancy and durability across multiple servers.

3. Cost Structure: Amazon EBS storage is typically charged based on the provisioned capacity and I/O operations, making it more suitable for applications with specific performance requirements. Amazon S3 and Minio, on the other hand, follow a pay-as-you-go model based on the amount of data stored, making them more cost-effective for long-term archival or data sharing scenarios.

4. Performance: Amazon EBS volumes offer low-latency, high-throughput storage for applications that require consistent performance. Amazon S3 and Minio, being object storage solutions, may have slightly higher latency but are optimized for large-scale storage and retrieval of unstructured data such as media files, backups, and logs.

5. Data Lifecycle Management: Amazon S3 provides features like lifecycle policies to automatically transition data between storage classes based on access patterns, optimizing costs for infrequently accessed data. Minio, as an open-source object storage solution, allows users to customize data lifecycle management based on their specific requirements, offering flexibility in data storage and retrieval strategies.

6. Integration with Ecosystem: Amazon EBS is tightly integrated with EC2 instances and is well-suited for applications that require direct access to block storage. Amazon S3, being a versatile storage service, integrates seamlessly with various AWS services such as Lambda, Glacier, and Athena, facilitating data processing and analytics workflows. Minio, being compatible with the S3 API, can be integrated with a wide range of applications and tools that support S3-compatible storage, enabling easy migration and interoperability with existing systems.

In Summary, the key differences between Amazon EBS, Amazon S3, and Minio lie in their accessibility, durability, cost structure, performance, data lifecycle management, and integration with the ecosystem, catering to different storage needs and use cases in the cloud environment.