Week 4 Worklog
Week 4 Objectives:
- Master AWS Storage services with focus on S3 fundamentals
- Understand S3 storage classes, lifecycle policies, and access control
- Learn hybrid storage solutions: Snow Family and Storage Gateway
- Explore FSx for Windows File Server capabilities
- Practice VM migration from on-premises to AWS
Tasks to be carried out this week:
| Day | Task | Start Date | Completion Date | Reference Material |
|---|
| 1 | - Study AWS Storage Services overview
+ S3 fundamentals and use cases
+ S3 Access Points and Storage Classes
+ S3 Glacier for archival | 2025/09/29 | 2025/09/29 | https://docs.aws.amazon.com/s3/ |
| 2 | - Deep dive into S3 features:
+ Static website hosting and CORS
+ Access control (IAM, Bucket Policies, ACLs)
+ Object keys and performance optimization
- Learn Snow Family and Storage Gateway | 2025/09/30 | 2025/09/30 | https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/ |
| 3 | - Lab 13: AWS Backup implementation
+ Create S3 bucket and infrastructure
+ Configure backup plans
+ Set up notifications
+ Test restore procedures | 2025/10/01 | 2025/10/01 | https://000013.awsstudygroup.com/ |
| 4 | - Lab 14: VM Import/Export
+ Export VM from VMware Workstation
+ Upload to S3 and import to AWS
+ Deploy instance from AMI
+ Export VM back from AWS | 2025/10/02 | 2025/10/02 | https://000014.awsstudygroup.com/ |
| 5 | - Lab 24: Storage Gateway setup
+ Create File Gateway
+ Configure file shares
+ Mount shares on on-premises machine
- Lab 57: S3 static website (Part 1) | 2025/10/03 | 2025/10/03 | https://000024.awsstudygroup.com/
https://000057.awsstudygroup.com/ |
| 6 | - Lab 25: FSx for Windows File Server
+ Create Multi-AZ file systems (SSD & HDD)
+ Test and monitor performance
+ Enable deduplication and shadow copies
+ Configure user quotas | 2025/10/04 | 2025/10/04 | https://000025.awsstudygroup.com/ |
| 7 | - Complete Lab 57: CloudFront integration
- Weekly review and cleanup all resources
- Document learnings | 2025/10/05 | 2025/10/05 | |
Week 4 Achievements:
S3 Mastery:
- Understood S3 storage classes: Standard, IA, One Zone-IA, Glacier, Deep Archive
- Configured bucket policies, ACLs, and access points for secure access
- Implemented lifecycle policies for cost optimization
- Enabled versioning and cross-region replication
AWS Backup (Lab 13):
- Created automated backup plans for EC2 and RDS
- Configured backup retention and lifecycle policies
- Set up SNS notifications for backup events
- Successfully restored resources from backups
VM Migration (Lab 14):
- Exported VMs from VMware Workstation to OVA format
- Uploaded VM images to S3 using AWS CLI
- Imported VMs as AMIs using VM Import/Export
- Deployed EC2 instances from imported AMIs
- Exported running instances back to VM format
Storage Gateway (Lab 24):
- Deployed File Gateway on EC2
- Created NFS/SMB file shares backed by S3
- Mounted shares on on-premises Windows/Linux machines
- Tested file synchronization between on-premises and S3
FSx for Windows (Lab 25):
- Created Multi-AZ file systems with SSD and HDD storage
- Tested performance differences between storage types
- Enabled data deduplication to reduce storage costs
- Configured shadow copies for file recovery
- Set up user storage quotas
- Scaled throughput and storage capacity
S3 Static Website (Lab 57):
- Hosted static website on S3 with custom domain
- Configured CloudFront for global content delivery
- Implemented bucket versioning for rollback capability
- Set up cross-region replication for disaster recovery
Challenges Encountered:
- S3 Bucket Naming: Bucket name already taken globally → Used unique naming convention with account ID
- VM Import Size: Large VM took hours to upload → Used multipart upload and S3 Transfer Acceleration
- Storage Gateway Activation: Failed to activate gateway → Verified security group allowed ports 80, 443, 1026-1028, 2049
- FSx Performance: Initial throughput lower than expected → Increased throughput capacity from 8 MB/s to 64 MB/s
- CloudFront Cache: Website changes not reflecting immediately → Learned about cache invalidation and TTL settings
- Cross-Region Replication: Objects not replicating → Enabled versioning on both source and destination buckets
- Backup Costs: High storage costs for frequent backups → Adjusted retention policy and moved old backups to Glacier
References:
AWS Official Documentation:
AWS Workshops & Labs:
Technical Articles: