Get Started With Amazon Simple Storage Service

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is storage for the internet. You can use Amazon S3 to store and retrieve any amount of data at any time, from anywhere on the web. You can accomplish these tasks using the AWS Management Console, which is a simple and intuitive web interface.

This guide introduces you to Amazon S3 using the AWS Management Console to complete the tasks shown in the following figure:

Amazon S3 Basics

To get the most out of Amazon S3, you need to understand a few simple concepts. Amazon S3 stores data as objects within buckets. An object is comprised of a file and optionally any metadata that describes that file.

To store an object in Amazon S3, you upload the file you want to store to a bucket. When you upload a file, you can set permissions on the object as well as any metadata.

Buckets are the containers for objects. You can have one or more buckets. For each bucket, you can control access to the bucket (who can create, delete, and list objects in the bucket), view access logs for the bucket and its objects, and choose the geographical region where Amazon S3 will store the bucket and its contents.

When using the AWS Management Console you can create folders to group objects. You can nest folders (create folders within folders). If you have used the Amazon S3 API or other utilities, you can learn some important aspects about how folders work with other grouping conventions in the Amazon S3 Console User Guide.

Sign Up for Amazon S3

To use Amazon S3, you need an AWS account. If you don't already have one, you'll be prompted to create one when you sign up for Amazon S3.You will not be charged for Amazon S3 until you use it.

To sign up for Amazon S3

1. Go to http://aws.amazon.com/s3 and click Sign Up for Amazon S3.

2. Follow the on-screen instructions.

AWS will notify you by e-mail when your account is active and available for you to use.