Dive Brief:
- To help with large-scale data migrations, Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Wednesday announced Snowmobile, a secure data truck that holds 100 petabytes (100 million gigabytes) of data.
- It is a "ruggedized, tamper-resistant" shipping container that is 45 feet long, more than 10 feet high and 8 feet wide. The Snowmobile uses about 350 KW of AC power. Though it can be used across industries, it is particularly intended for financial services, media and entertainment and scientific organizations.
- Companies can pay half a cent per gigabyte to use the technology, or $500,000 per month for full capacity, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ten Snowmobiles will be able to transfer an exabyte (one billion gigabytes) in less than six months.
Dive Insight:
Any company that has transitioned to the cloud knows even the fastest data-transfer speeds could take years for a company to fully migrate its data.
Amazon's new service, announced last week, offers a solution to the unbearably slow-moving process: imagine a giant USB transported from the company's site to cloud servers. The move is a step-up from last year's Snowball, which let customers transfer one PB of data per week. This version will allow companies to move huge quantities of data through an already system they are already familiar with.
Introducing AWS Snowmobile: Exabyte-Scale Data Transport - yes. That is a truck! #AWS #reInvent pic.twitter.com/r9rwZJ8zuQ
— AWS re:Invent (@AWSreInvent) November 30, 2016
Ever conscious of security measures, AWS employs data encryption and has physical and logical layers of security. It will include a security vehicle escort and companies have the option to request security guards for Snowmobile while it is on site.
In case you were curious, AWS' Jeff Barr created a replica of the Snowmobile data transfer process out of LEGOs. It gives you an idea of exactly what a cartoon version of a Snowmobile data migration looks like, complete with tiled floors and a dog-friendly work environment.
