Amazon S3 replication is a feature that allows you to automatically replicate objects from one S3 bucket to another, either within the same AWS region or across different AWS regions. Replication helps with data durability, backup, compliance, and disaster recovery, among other use cases.
There are two primary types of replication in Amazon S3:
Cross-Region Replication (CRR):
- Replicates data between buckets in different AWS regions.
- Ideal for scenarios requiring geographical redundancy, improved data locality, or meeting compliance and data sovereignty requirements.
- Can help with disaster recovery by replicating data across geographically separated regions.
Same-Region Replication (SRR):
- Replicates data between buckets within the same AWS region.
- Useful for workloads requiring data backup, compliance, or isolation between different parts of the organization.
- Offers the ability to distribute data across multiple buckets for performance or organizational purposes, without transferring data across regions.
Versioning Required:
- Both the source and destination buckets must have versioning enabled for replication to work.
- Objects in the source bucket are replicated as new versions in the destination bucket.
Use Cases
Geographical Redundancy: Ensure data availability across regions for disaster recovery by replicating data from one region to another using CRR.
Compliance Requirements: Some regulations require storing copies of data in specific geographic locations. CRR allows you to comply with these requirements.
Data Backup and Recovery: SRR allows creating backup copies within the same region for reliability, even if one bucket or availability zone becomes unavailable.
Load Distribution: You can replicate data across different buckets in a region to distribute the load or segment data according to organizational needs.