What should a solutions architect do to meet these requirements with the LEAST operational effort?
Deploy Amazon FSx for Windows File Server to create a file system with exposed file shares with sufficient storage to hold all the desired backups.
Deploy an AWS Storage Gateway file gateway with sufficient storage to hold 1 week of backups. Point the backups to SMB shares from the file gateway.
Deploy Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) to create a file system with exposed NFS shares with sufficient storage to hold all the desired backups.
Continue to back up to the existing file shares. Deploy AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) and define a copy task to copy backup files older than 1 week to Amazon S3, and delete the backup files from the local file store.
Explanations:
While Amazon FSx for Windows File Server can provide file shares, it does not inherently address the requirement for delayed access to older backups and involves more operational effort in managing the file shares and backups directly. It also incurs higher costs compared to simpler storage options like S3 for older backups.
AWS Storage Gateway with a file gateway allows for seamless integration with on-premises SMB shares while providing a way to store 1 week of backups locally and offloading older backups to Amazon S3 for longer retention. This solution minimizes operational effort and automates backup management.
Amazon EFS is primarily designed for shared file storage and provides NFS access, which does not align with the current SMB protocol being used. Additionally, it may not efficiently handle the lifecycle management of older backups, requiring more effort to manage backup retention.
Although this option retains the existing backup solution, deploying AWS DMS for copying older backups adds unnecessary complexity and operational overhead. It requires manual intervention for managing file deletions and may not be the most efficient approach for long-term storage compared to using Amazon S3 directly for older backups.
If I had to guess, I’d say the answer is:
Deploy an AWS Storage Gateway file gateway with sufficient storage to hold 1 week of backups. Point the backups to SMB shares from the file gateway.