Question #1192
Which AWS service provides scalable file storage that can be concurrently accessed by multiple Amazon EC2 instances across different Availability Zones?
AWS Storage Gateway
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server
Amazon S3 Glacier
Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)
Explanation
The correct answer is D (Amazon EFS) because it is a fully managed, scalable network file system (NFS) designed for concurrent access by multiple EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones (AZs). EFS automatically scales storage capacity and supports cross-AZ redundancy, making it ideal for shared workloads.
Why other options are incorrect:
- A (AWS Storage Gateway): Primarily connects on-premises environments to AWS storage (e.g., S3, Glacier), not designed for multi-AZ EC2 file sharing.
- B (Amazon FSx for Windows): Default deployments are Single-AZ; Multi-AZ requires specific configuration and is optimized for Windows-based applications.
- C (Amazon S3 Glacier): A low-cost archival storage service, not suitable for real-time file access by EC2 instances.
Key Points:
- EFS is regionally distributed, supports NFS, and scales automatically.
- Use EFS for shared, multi-AZ file storage; FSx for Windows for Windows-specific workloads; S3 Glacier for archival data.
Answer
The correct answer is: D