What is Amazon EFS?
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed, elastic NFS file system for Linux-based workloads. It automatically scales from gigabytes to petabytes without provisioning and provides concurrent access for thousands of clients. EFS is ideal for applications where multiple compute instances need shared access to files.
Core Features
- Automatic Scaling: Storage capacity grows and shrinks automatically based on demand
- Multi-AZ Replication: Data is automatically replicated across multiple Availability Zones
- Lifecycle Management: Automatic movement of infrequently accessed files to cheaper storage classes
- Access Points: Application-specific entry points with their own POSIX permissions
- Throughput Modes: Elastic Throughput (default) that scales automatically with workload activity, or Provisioned Throughput for predictable peak requirements
Typical Use Cases
Shared Storage for Containers: EFS enables persistent storage for ECS, EKS, and Fargate. Multiple container instances access the same files, ideal for CMS systems or ML models.
Web Content Serving: Web server fleets can serve static content from a central EFS file system. Changes are immediately visible on all servers.
DevOps and CI/CD: Build artifacts, source code, and development environments can be stored in EFS to ensure consistent access across multiple build agents.
Benefits
- No provisioning required: Storage scales automatically
- High availability through Multi-AZ replication
- POSIX-compliant: Works with existing Linux applications
- Cost optimization through lifecycle policies and IA/Archive storage classes
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory supports you with Amazon EFS: architecture design, integration with container platforms, performance optimization, and cost management through storage class strategies.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use EFS instead of EBS?
EFS is suitable when multiple EC2 instances or containers need to access the same files simultaneously. EBS is better suited for single instances with block storage requirements.
What storage classes does EFS offer?
EFS offers three storage classes: Standard for frequently accessed data, Infrequent Access (IA) for rarely accessed data at significantly reduced cost, and Archive for very rarely accessed data at the lowest storage cost. Lifecycle Management automatically moves files between classes.
Does EFS work with containers?
Yes, EFS can be used with ECS, EKS, and Fargate. Containers can store persistent data in EFS that persists across container restarts and scaling.
How secure is data in EFS?
EFS provides encryption at rest and in transit. Access control is managed through IAM policies, POSIX permissions, and optional Access Points for application-specific access control.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of AWS (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by AWS.