Providing storage gateway to AWS S3 and Glacier

Introduction

For many businesses, data archiving plays a vital role in their overall backup strategy. While backups are designed to quickly restore the most recent data, archiving ensures that even data from decades ago remains accessible. Public cloud services like AWS provide both solutions—S3 for fast access to backups and Glacier for long-term archive storage, offering the best $/TB ratio while delivering unlimited storage and protection against ransomware.

Problem

While AWS offers the fast S3 storage tier for backups and the cost-efficient Glacier for archiving—meeting the 3-2-1 backup rule —there’s a gap in tools to effectively integrate these options with backup applications.

Additionally, while some backup applications allow for integration with S3 and Glacier as backup targets, they often lack intelligent, seamless tiering between the two, leading to potential cost increases.

Solution

StarWind VTL provides a storage gateway to both AWS S3 and Glacier to any backup application that can talk to tape. This means businesses can take advantage of fast S3 and cost-effective Glacier, regardless of the backup solution they’re using.

Moreover, StarWind VTL optimizes the use of both S3 and Glacier by providing flexible tiering options. You can decide how long your backups stay in S3 before they are moved to Glacier for long-term archival storage, which maximizes cost-efficiency of public cloud storage.

Conclusion

StarWind VTL is the perfect solution for businesses looking to meet the 3-2-1 backup rule while maximizing the advantages of fast AWS S3 for backups and cost-effective Glacier for archival storage—without having to worry about the backup software they’re using.