Amazon Glacier vs Amazon Kinesis Firehose: What are the differences?

Amazon Glacier vs Amazon Kinesis Firehose

Amazon Glacier and Amazon Kinesis Firehose are two distinct services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) with different use cases and functionalities. Below are the key differences between the two services:

1. Data Ingestion: Amazon Glacier is primarily designed for long-term storage of data archives, where data is stored for a long duration with infrequent access. On the other hand, Amazon Kinesis Firehose is a real-time data delivery service that ingests, transforms, and loads streaming data into AWS data stores like Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, or Amazon Elasticsearch.

2. Data Retrieval: With Amazon Glacier, retrieving data involves a three to five-hour retrieval time period, making it suitable for data that is not frequently accessed. In contrast, Amazon Kinesis Firehose delivers real-time streaming data without the need for manual intervention, providing near real-time analytics on the ingested data.

3. Data Processing: Amazon Glacier does not offer real-time data processing capabilities. It is primarily a data archiving service with a focus on low-cost storage of data archives. On the other hand, Amazon Kinesis Firehose provides data transformation capabilities, enabling users to transform and preprocess data before loading it into AWS data stores, facilitating analytics and insights generation.

4. Pricing Model: Amazon Glacier follows a pricing model based on data retrieval requests, data transfer out, and storage duration. In contrast, Amazon Kinesis Firehose charges based on the amount of data ingested into the service, offering a simple pricing structure without additional charges for data processing or transformation.

5. Data Granularity: Amazon Glacier is suitable for storing large amounts of data in large archives, making it ideal for backup and archival purposes. Amazon Kinesis Firehose, on the other hand, is optimized for handling real-time streaming data with a focus on ingesting and delivering data continuously and reliably.

6. Use Case: Amazon Glacier is commonly used for data archiving, backup, and compliance requirements where data needs to be stored for an extended period without frequent access. Amazon Kinesis Firehose, on the other hand, is ideal for real-time analytics, log processing, and data transformation scenarios that require immediate insights from streaming data sources.

In Summary, Amazon Glacier and Amazon Kinesis Firehose serve distinct purposes with Glacier focusing on long-term storage of data archives and Firehose providing real-time data ingestion and processing capabilities.