Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
What is AWS?
3.
What is S3 in AWS?
4.
A Brief about AWS S3 Versioning
5.
Steps to Enable AWS S3 Versioning 
6.
Benefits of AWS S3 Versioning
7.
Frequently Asked Questions
7.1.
Is S3 Versioning enabled by default when creating an S3 bucket?
7.2.
Does S3 Versioning incur any additional costs?
7.3.
Can we permanently delete a version of an object in S3 Versioning?
7.4.
Can we suspend versioning once it's enabled?
7.5.
Can S3 Versioning protect against accidental overwrites?
8.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

AWS S3 Versioning

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Introduction

In our digital world of cloud computing, Amazon Web Service(AWS) is playing a crucial role. It provides various services to help organizations to manage their storage, data, and other IT infrastructure. This is where S3 comes into the picture. It is a highly scalable and durable object storage solution that is provided by AWS. 

AWS S3 versioning

In this blog, we will discuss about AWS S3 Versioning. We will also discuss the steps to do the S3 versioning. Before moving on to the main topic, let us understand what AWS and S3 are.

What is AWS?

AWS is a cloud computing platform presented by Amazon. It offers various services to help organizations. It helps them to store, manage, and access data on the internet. Without using hardware or a physical server, we can easily do all the tasks that are required for an application. 

aws logo

AWS also provides storage, database, and computing power. It is used to store and backup the data securely on the cloud. It also provides hosting services. It is scalable if an organization wants to scale its business.

What is S3 in AWS?

In cloud computing, storage is the main thing that everyone should focus on. AWS provides a solution for better storage service as S3. Amazon S3 stands for Simple Storage Service. It is one of the main services of AWS. It is a fully managed object storage service. Amazon S3 allows us to store and retrieve any amount of data. We can store and retrieve data at any time from anywhere on the internet. There are several features of Amazon S3:

  • It is scalable
     
  • Its durability and availability are very high
     
  • It is completely secured
     
  • It supports versioning
     
  • It provides data transfer acceleration
     
  • We can integrate it with other services
     

As you can see in the features of Amazon S3, we have discussed about “Versioning.” Now, we will see in this article how to do S3 versioning. Before performing versioning, let us understand about what it is.

A Brief about AWS S3 Versioning

AWS S3 versioning is one of the best capabilities of AWS. It helps us to preserve multiple versions of an object in an Amazon S3 bucket. Suppose we want to store a text file by updating it two or three times, and we want to store its versions then, we can use AWS S3 versioning for this purpose. When we enable the versioning of our S3 bucket, whenever we change, overwrite, or delete the existing object, AWS will save all our previous versions. It maintains a historical record of changes.

The ability to maintain the records of changes or versions of an object helps to protect the accidental deletion of data and data corruption. It also helps in protecting against malicious attacks. 

Now, you got an idea about versioning, but you might be wondering how to perform this task. Let us understand this by following some simple steps.

Steps to Enable AWS S3 Versioning 

There are several steps to enable the AWS S3 versioning. Let us look at these steps:

Step 1: Firstly, we need to sign in to the AWS Console. We have to choose the user type accordingly.

sign in to console

Step 2: Now, search for S3 in the search box and select that. 

searching s3

Now, click on S3.

click on S3

Step 3: Now, we need to create a bucket. So, click on the Create bucket button.

creating bucket

Step 4: Now, we need to fill the bucket’s details. Firstly, we need to give a suitable name for the bucket, suppose our bucket name is cn-versioning-test. We don’t need to change the region, and we can go with the default one. For the rest, other options we can go with the default selected options. For now, we are going with versioning disabled, and let us see what will happen.

default versioning

Now, click on the create bucket button in the last.

click on the create bucket button

Step 5: Now, we will see that we have successfully created a bucket.

successfully created bucket

Step 6: Now, click on the created bucket. We know that we have created this bucket while disabling the versioning

click on created bucket

Step 7: Now, we will try to upload a file. Suppose we have created a text file, ninjastext.txt, and we want to upload it to S3.

click on upload button

Now, we have to upload a text file. So, if we click on the add files, we can upload our file. So, select the file and click on the upload button.

try to upload a file

Step 8: Now, we will see that we have uploaded our file successfully.

file uploaded successfully

Step 9: Now, click on the close button and try to upload the same file again. So, the S3 bucket will overwrite the file. 

uploading same file

After uploading the file again, we will see a single file in the bucket.

single file in the bucket

Step 10: Now, if we enable the versioning for S3, we will be able to see different versions of the file. To enable the versioning, go to properties and edit the bucket versioning.

enabling versioning

So, click on the edit button, and it will redirect you to the options for versioning.

options for versioning

Now, click on enable option and save changes.
 

Step 11: Now, we need to go to the objects tab again. So, we will see an option in the object tab “Show versions.” If we click on this, we can see the different versions of the file.

show versions

After clicking on the show versions options, we will see the Version ID.

version id for files

Currently, it is null, and if we upload the file again, we will see different versions.
 

Step 12: Now, again, we are going to upload the file to see the versions. So, after uploading the file again, we will see

checking version after uploading the file again

Now, if we want to open the file, then we need to check the box and click on the open button.

opening the file

We can see the content written in the file.

file content

So, this is an example of how we can use AWS S3 Versioning to store different versions of the files. Now, you might be wondering what the benefits of using AWS S3 versioning are. Let us discuss them.

Benefits of AWS S3 Versioning

Using AWS S3 Versioning offers several benefits that enhance data resilience, control, and overall data management:

  • It helps in accidental deletion protection of the data
     
  • It helps in data recovery
     
  • It helps in version retention for compliance and auditing
     
  • It helps to improve data resilience and durability
     
  • It helps in malicious deletion protection

Frequently Asked Questions

Is S3 Versioning enabled by default when creating an S3 bucket?

No, S3 Versioning is not enabled by default when creating an S3 bucket. You need to explicitly enable it for each bucket.

Does S3 Versioning incur any additional costs?

Yes, enabling S3 Versioning will lead to some additional costs as every versioned object will be stored separately. However, the benefits of data protection outweigh the costs for many users.

Can we permanently delete a version of an object in S3 Versioning?

Yes, we can permanently delete a specific version of an object by using the AWS Management Console, API calls, or AWS SDKs.

Can we suspend versioning once it's enabled?

Yes, we can suspend versioning for an S3 bucket at any time. This will stop AWS from creating new versions, but it will not affect the existing versions in the bucket.

Can S3 Versioning protect against accidental overwrites?

Yes, S3 Versioning can protect against accidental overwrites, as it automatically saves the previous version of an object when a new version is uploaded.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have discussed about AWS S3 versioning. Firstly, we covered what AWS is. Then we explained S3 and S3 versioning. We have also discussed how to enable versioning. If you want to learn more about AWS, then you can check out our blogs:

We hope this blog helps you to get knowledge about AWS S3 Versioning. You can refer to our guided paths on the Codestudio platform. You can check our course to learn more about DSADBMSCompetitive ProgrammingPythonJavaJavaScript, etc. 

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