Which solution meets these requirements with the LEAST amount of operational overhead?
Configure AWS DataSync. Replicate the data to Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes. When the on-premises environment is unavailable, use AWS CloudFormation templates to provision Amazon EC2 instances and attach the EBS volumes.
Configure AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery. Replicate the data to replication Amazon EC2 instances that are attached to Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes. When the on-premises environment is unavailable, use Elastic Disaster Recovery to launch EC2 instances that use the replicated volumes.
Provision an AWS Storage Gateway file gateway. Replicate the data to an Amazon S3 bucket. When the on-premises environment is unavailable, use AWS Backup to restore the data to Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes and launch Amazon EC2 instances from these EBS volumes.
Provision an Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file system on AWS. Replicate the data to the file system. When the on-premises environment is unavailable, use AWS CloudFormation templates to provision Amazon EC2 instances and use AWS::CloudFormation::Init commands to mount the Amazon FSx file shares.
Explanations:
AWS DataSync is primarily for transferring large amounts of data to and from AWS. It does not provide real-time replication capabilities needed to meet the 5-minute RPO requirement. Provisioning EC2 instances and attaching EBS volumes using CloudFormation adds operational overhead, as it involves manual steps that could delay recovery.
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DR) is designed for minimal downtime and supports real-time replication of applications. It meets the 5-minute RPO by continuously replicating the data to AWS. In the event of an outage, it can quickly launch EC2 instances using the replicated volumes, which minimizes operational overhead and provides a seamless transition.
AWS Storage Gateway file gateway is primarily used for hybrid cloud storage solutions, not for real-time disaster recovery. It requires restoring data from S3 to EBS, which does not meet the RPO of 5 minutes. The backup and restoration process adds operational complexity and potential delays in recovery.
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server provides file storage but does not inherently offer real-time replication to meet the 5-minute RPO. Using CloudFormation templates for provisioning EC2 instances and mounting file shares can introduce significant operational overhead and complexity during recovery, making it less efficient compared to Elastic Disaster Recovery.
I infer that the answer is:
Configure AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery. Replicate the data to replication Amazon EC2 instances that are attached to Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes. When the on-premises environment is unavailable, use Elastic Disaster Recovery to launch EC2 instances that use the replicated volumes.