EFS offers storage classes that automatically move files to cheaper tiers as they’re accessed less — cutting cost for shared file storage without you managing anything.
Standard vs Infrequent Access
EFS Standard is for frequently accessed files. EFS Infrequent Access (IA) is much cheaper for files you rarely touch. With Lifecycle Management, EFS moves files to IA after a period of no access automatically (and back to Standard on access, with Intelligent-Tiering). The tell is “reduce EFS cost for rarely-accessed files automatically.”
Test yourself
A shared EFS file system holds many files that are rarely accessed after a month. How do you cut cost automatically?
- Delete old files manually
- Enable EFS Lifecycle Management to move files to Infrequent Access
- Move everything to S3 Glacier
- Increase throughput mode
👉 Click to reveal the answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. EFS Lifecycle Management automatically moves files not accessed for a set period to the cheaper Infrequent Access class. Manual deletion (A) risks data loss; Glacier (C) isn’t an EFS class; changing throughput (D) doesn’t reduce storage cost.
Related topics
Amazon EFS · S3 storage classes · EBS vs EFS vs S3
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