AWS EBS (Elastic Block Store) provides persistent block-level storage volumes for use with EC2 instances. This post explains EBS volume types (gp3, io2, st1, sc1), how to create and attach volumes, taking snapshots for backup, encryption options, and the differences between EBS and other AWS storage services.
What is EBS Volume?
- An EBS (Elastic Book Store) volume is a network drive you can attach to your instance while they run
- It allows your instances to persist data, even after their termination
- They can only be mounted to one instance at a time (at the CCP level)
- They are bound to a specific availability zone
- Analogy: Think of them as a "network USB stick"
- Free tier: 30GB of free EBS storage of type General purpose (SSD) or magnetic per month
How to create EBS volume?
Search Volumnes > create volume > volumetype - General purpose SSD (gp2) > size (2 GIB) > Availability zone should be same with instance availability zone > click create button > select Volume that you created > choose instance that you want to attach volume > click attach button
* Note: EBS volume able to attach if same ability zone of the instance.
How to delete EBS volume?
Choose EBS volume that you want to delete > Delete on termination > choose Yes
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an EBS volume?
An EBS (Elastic Block Store) volume is a durable, network-attached block storage device that you can attach to EC2 instances, providing persistent storage that persists independently of the instance's lifecycle.
What is the difference between EBS and EFS?
EBS is block storage that can only be attached to a single EC2 instance at a time (except with Multi-Attach), while EFS (Elastic File System) is a shared file storage system that can be mounted by multiple EC2 instances simultaneously.