EFS (Elastic File System)

EFS (Elastic File System): When you need a distributed, highly resilient storage for Linux instances and Linux-based applications. EFS is Managed NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution.

• Supports the Network File System version 4 (NFSv4) protocol

• Only Pay for the storage you use (no pre-provisioning required)

• Can scale up to petabytes

• Can support thousands of concurrent NFS connections

• Data is stored across multiple AZs within a region

• Read-after-write consistency

Lyfecycle policies

It is possible to configure the lifecycle policies for a EFS file system.

For example you can configure Lifecycle policy for EFS IA after 7 days.

For more information refer to the AWS Documentation.

EFS throughput modes

Choose Provisioned when you need consistent performance above baseline or can't rely on burst credits. Choose Bursting for variable workloads where occasional performance spikes are acceptable.

Bursting Throughput

• Baseline performance of 50 KB/s per GB of storage

• Accumulates burst credits when not using full baseline

• Can burst up to 100 MB/s when needed using credits

• Better for variable workloads with periodic spikes

• More cost-effective for inconsistent usage patterns

Provisioned Throughput

• Allows you to specify required throughput regardless of storage size

• Charged for provisioned amount whether used or not

• Can be increased/decreased as needed

• Measured in MiB/s

• Ideal for applications requiring consistent, predictable performance

• Better for high-performance workloads that need guaranteed throughput

Example

A 100 GB file system with bursting mode would have:

• Baseline: 5 MB/s (100 GB × 50 KB/s)

• Burst: Up to 100 MB/s using burst credits

EFS Types

• Standard offers highest availability across multiple AZs

• One Zone reduces costs but trades off availability

• IA options best for infrequently accessed data with minimum 30-day storage

• Throughput modes (Bursting/Provisioned) available across all classes

Feature	Standard Storage Class	One Zone Storage Class	Infrequent Access (IA)	Standard-IA	One Zone-IA
Availability	99.999999999% (11 9's)	99.999999999% (11 9's)	Based on storage class	99.999999999%	99.9%
Durability	99.999999999% (11 9's)	99.9%	Same as primary storage class	99.999999999%	99.9%
AZ Replication	Multiple AZ	Single AZ	Based on storage class	Multiple AZ	Single AZ
Performance Modes	General Purpose and Max I/O	General Purpose only	Based on storage class	General Purpose	General Purpose
Throughput Modes	Bursting and Provisioned	Bursting and Provisioned	Based on storage class	Bursting and Provisioned	Bursting and Provisioned
Minimum Storage Duration	None	None	30 days	30 days	30 days
Cost	Higher	~47% lower than Standard	Lower for infrequent access	Lower than Standard	Lowest
Use Cases	- Production workloads - Critical data - High availability needs	- Dev/test environments - Data backup - Cost-sensitive workloads	- Infrequently accessed files - Long-term storage	- Infrequently accessed files - Need high availability	- Infrequently accessed files - Cost-sensitive workloads
Access Patterns	Frequent access	Frequent access	Infrequent access	Infrequent access	Infrequent access
Retrieval Fee	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Data Transfer AZ	Free	Free	Based on storage class	Charged	Charged