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S3 Storage Classes in Orca

Orca can accept multiple S3 storage classes on ingest. These storage classes affect storage pricing, as well as available retrieval options.

See Deployment With Cumulus for details on choosing a default storage class and Collection Configuration for setting the per-collection override value.

GLACIER/Glacier Flexible Retrieval

This is Orca's default storage class. While the cost is higher, the retrieval time is significantly lower.

Retention

Each individual version is billed for a minimum of 90 days of storage. As of the writing of this document, the cost is .0036 per GB per month.

Retrieval

Files stored in the GLACIER class can be recovered in as quickly as 5 minutes using the Expedited option as needed. Cheaper options include the orca default Standard at 5 hours, and the Bulk at up to 12 hours. For pricing details, see 'Requests & data retrievals' on the Amazon S3 pricing page.

DEEP_ARCHIVE

Retention

File versions stored in DEEP_ARCHIVE cost roughly 1/3rd to keep stored in S3 compared to GLACIER, and are billed for double the GLACIER retention policy at 180 days.

DEEP_ARCHIVE is recommended for large files that will not see frequent changes.

Retrieval

As a trade-off for their reduced cost compared to GLACIER, DEEP_ARCHIVE retrieval takes 3-4 times as long, and cannot be restored with the Expedited recovery type. Retrieval also mildly increases in minimum cost from the free Bulk tier in GLACIER to $0.0025 per GB.