AWS Snow Family is a bunch of physical devices and services provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This allows organizations to transfer large amounts of data to or from the AWS Cloud. These devices are particularly useful for environments with limited resources such as limited network connectivity, and unreliable, or cost-prohibitive for transferring massive data entities.

Key Features of the AWS Snow Family

1. Data Transfer and Migration:
   • Move petabytes to exabytes of data to AWS without relying on network connections.
   • Supports both offline (device shipment) and online (connected) transfers.
2. Edge Computing:
   • Devices can process and analyze data locally using built-in compute capabilities, including support for AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS Lambda, and EC2 instances.
3. Security:
   • End-to-end data encryption using AES-256.
   • Tamper-evident enclosures and secure erasure of customer data after transfer.
4. Durability:
   • Rugged, shockproof, and weather-resistant, making them ideal for harsh environments.

Key Components of the AWS Snow Family

There are three Key Components AWS Snowcone, AWS Snowball, AWS Snowmobile.

AWS Snowcone

• Use Case: Migration of Small-scale data and edge computing (edge computing is nothing but distributed computing where computing and storage would be near to the required location).
  
• Features:
  • Portable, rugged device.
  • 8 TB usable storage capacity.
  • Lightweight (under 5 pounds) and can be carried in a backpack.
  • Ideal for use in remote or space-constrained environments.
  • Supports offline or online data transfer.
• Applications: Military field operations, IoT edge computing, and small-scale data transfers.

AWS Snowball

• Use Case: Medium-to-large data migrations, edge computing, and hybrid cloud workflows.
• Features:
  • Two variants:
    • Snowball Edge Storage Optimized: Large storage capacity for bulk data transfer (up to 80 TB).
    • Snowball Edge Compute Optimized: Includes GPUs for compute-oriented tasks.
  • Rugged and secure, with built-in tamper detection.
  • Supports both data transfer and on-site processing with AWS Lambda functions and EC2 instances.
  • It allows high-speed network connectivity and optical interface.
  • It is possible to create a cluster using multiple snowball devices.
  • Using Amazon EKS anywhere, it is possible to deploy Kubernetes using one or multiple Snowball devices.
• Applications: Data center migrations, video content generation, and machine learning at the edge.

AWS Snowmobile

• Use Case: Exabyte-scale data migration.
• Features:
  • A 45-foot-long shipping container transported via a secure truck.
  • Capacity to transfer up to 100 PB of data in a single deployment.
  • Designed for organizations with massive datasets like film studios, satellite imagery providers, or financial institutions.
• Applications: Disaster recovery, archival of massive datasets, and large-scale migrations.

How Snow Family Works?

1. Order: Request a Snow Family device from the AWS Management Console.
2. Load Data:
   • AWS ships the device to your location.
   • Load your data onto the device using the provided software tools.
3. Ship Back:
   • Securely return the device to AWS.
   • AWS transfers your data to your designated S3 bucket.
4. Data Security:
   • All data is encrypted using 256-bit encryption.
   • Hardware tamper-evident seals are included for additional security.

Industries that can use AWS Snow Family

1. Media & Entertainment: Transferring raw footage and rendering data.
2. Healthcare: Migrating genomic research data.
3. Public Sector: Disaster recovery for governments and military use.
4. Manufacturing: Real-time analytics in industrial IoT environments.

---

Key Use Cases

1. Data Center Migration: Moving petabyte-scale datasets to AWS.
2. Content Distribution: Delivering large datasets to remote sites.
3. Edge Computing: Running applications locally with AWS Lambda or EC2 instances on Snowball or Snowcone.
4. Disaster Recovery: Backing up data in remote locations.