Amazon S3: A Beginner’s Cheat Sheet

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) offers users buckets of storage to store and retrieve any type of file. Despite its name, the service is much more than simply storing and retrieving files from Amazon’s cloud servers. In this cheat sheet, we’ll explain the many benefits of Amazon S3, from its ease of use to its security features and more, as well as cover some common mistakes to avoid when using it. With this handy guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering Amazon S3 in no time!

Step 1: Create an AWS Account

You need an AWS account to make use of Amazon S3. The cost is $100 per year and is due when you sign up. You can pay monthly, or annually. You need a credit card or debit card to verify your account – it takes 3-5 business days for verification before you can start using AWS.

Step 2.1 : Storage Options

In Amazon S3, you have to choose how much storage you want. This can be a set amount or it can be set by the type of data that is stored in your account. With Amazon S3, the amount of data stored is calculated in gigabytes (GB) and rounded up to the nearest 1,000 GB if it falls between two amounts. For example, 1 GB would equal 1000 MB while 5 GB would equal 5000 MB.

Step 2.2 : Select an AWS Region

Select the region nearest to your data’s home. For example, if you will be storing data in Ireland, then you should select a region in Ireland such as Ireland-Central. If your data has no home, pick a region near where you plan to use it most frequently, for example near the headquarters of your company or near the country from which most of your customers hail.

Step 3 : Set Up Access Keys

The Access Key ID and Secret Access Key are critical pieces of information. Keep them secure and do not share them with anyone! Creating Access Keys is simple and they will last for 12 months. Make sure you know how to recover your keys in case you forget. This process can take up to 24 hours, so don’t be surprised if it takes a little bit longer than usual.

Step 4 : Getting Started with the Console

To set up the AWS Console for the first time, enter your access key and secret key and then click on Create a New User in the top right corner. You will be presented with several options for choosing who can use your console. Choose Anyone with Your Access Key and click Next Step. Click Enable at this step so that you don’t need to go back to the Settings tab later.

Step 5 : Set up an IAM User

Now, you’ll need to create a user who has administrator permissions to your AWS account. To do this, log into the AWS Console, and click on Identity & Access Management in the navigation bar. Then select Create New Users, and fill out the details of the new user (name, email address). Once that’s done, select AdministratorAccess from Permissions drop-down list. Now make a note of their Access Key ID and Secret Access Key because you’ll need them for later on.

Step 6 : Create Buckets, Upload Objects and Set Policy on Buckets and Objects

Buckets and objects in the same region are stored together, so it is important to pay attention to where your buckets are created. Objects not in Amazon S3—including attachments in emails, photos on Facebook or videos on YouTube—cannot be stored in an Amazon S3 bucket.

Step 7 : Endpoints

As you may have noticed, the AWS SDKs for Java and .NET provide an endpoint URL with the AWSAccessKeyId, UserAgent and AccessKeySecret parameters to your provider. Depending on what Amazon SDK you’re using, there will be a different parameter list.