Getting Started with AWS S3: A Beginner's Guide to Storing Files in the Cloud

Priyanshu Chaurasiya

5 months ago

Getting Started with AWS S3: A Beginner's Guide to Storing Files in the Cloud

Looks like you're one of those developers who is struggling with handling media files in your web development project. Don’t stress, you’re not alone. I faced the same issue a few days back. When I was handling text-based data like names, usernames, passwords, emails, URLs, etc., everything went smoothly. But the moment I had to store media files—like blog cover images or user profile pictures—I was stuck for days. I had no idea how or where to store these files. Traditional databases aren’t designed to store large files, and that’s when I stumbled upon AWS S3.

Hello and welcome! I’m Priyanshu Chaurasiya, and I’m here to guide you through the solution to your media file storage headache. Grab your cup of coffee or tea (whichever you prefer) and get comfy. Let’s dive into AWS S3, a service that will make handling media files a breeze. We’ll keep it simple and focus on an overview of S3, so you can easily get started in your own projects. Once you’re familiar with it, you can explore deeper, but I believe the best way to learn is by trying things yourself. After all, you won’t truly understand until you start experimenting and putting in the effort!

What is AWS S3 ?

AWS S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service) is a scalable storage service provided by Amazon Web Services. It allows you to store data in the form of objects, whether it’s images, audio, videos, PDFs, or any other type of file. You can access these files from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an active internet connection. So, why do developers love S3? Let’s take a quick look at its features.

Features of AWS S3

Storage Classes: AWS S3 offers various storage classes like Standard, Glacier, and Archive, so you can pick the one that fits your project’s needs and budget.
Access Management: You can control access to your data using IAM (Identity Access Management), bucket policies, and ACLs, ensuring only authorized users can interact with your files.
Analytics and Insights: S3 provides tools like Storage Lens and Class Analysis to monitor and analyze your storage usage, helping you optimize your S3 buckets
High Durability: AWS S3 is designed for 99.999999999% (11 9's) durability, meaning the chances of data loss are almost negligible.
File Size: You can upload files as large as 5TB, which is a massive amount of space for almost any project!

You might be wondering—what’s this talk about “buckets”? No, I’m not talking about the one you use for water in the bathroom. Let’s talk about S3 buckets and how they work.

How AWS S3 Works

In AWS S3, "buckets" are like containers where your files (objects) are stored. Just like you store water in a bucket in the bathroom, you store your files in S3 buckets. But unlike bathroom buckets, there’s no official limit to how many files you can store in an S3 bucket. The only limit is that each individual file cannot exceed 5TB, which is more than enough for most applications.

Let's Get Practical: Creating Your First Bucket

I know you’ve been reading a lot of theory, so let’s take a break and dive into something hands-on. Here’s how you can create your very first S3 bucket:

Create an AWS Account: If you don’t have one already, head to the AWS website and sign up.
Search for S3: After logging in, search for the S3 service in the top search bar.
Create a Bucket: Click the "Create Bucket" button.
Bucket Name: Give your bucket a unique name. Remember, the name must be globally unique!
Block All Public Access: You’ll see an option to block all public access. If you’re just experimenting, I recommend unchecking this.
Leave Default Settings: You can leave everything else at its default setting. Click "Create Bucket," and you’re done!

Now that you’ve got your bucket, let’s upload a file.

Uploading Files to Your Bucket

Here’s how you can upload a file to the S3 bucket you just created:

Go to S3: From the AWS dashboard, go to the S3 service.
Select Your Bucket: Find the bucket you created and click on it.
Upload: Click the "Upload" button.
Add Files: You can either drag and drop your files or use the "Add Files" button.
Upload: Scroll down and click the "Upload" button to upload your file.

That’s it! You’ve successfully uploaded your first file to S3. Now, let’s talk about how to access it.

Accessing an Object in S3

Objects stored in S3 buckets are private by default. To make an object publicly accessible, you need to configure some policies:

Go to Permissions: After selecting your bucket, go to the "Permissions" tab.
Edit Bucket Policies: Click on the "Edit" button in front of "Bucket Policy."
Paste This Policy: Add the following JSON policy to allow public read access and save changes. Don’t forget to replace {BUCKET-NAME} with your actual bucket name.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "PublicReadGetObject",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": "*",
            "Action": "s3:GetObject",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::{BUCKET-NAME}/*"
        }
    ]
}

Now your objects are accessible through a public URL. Here’s what the URL format looks like:

{BUCKET-NAME}.s3.amazonaws.com/{OBJECT-KEY}

s3.amazon.aws.com/{BUCKET-NAME}/{OBJECT-KEY}

If the file doesn’t show up in your browser, feel free to leave a comment below, and I’ll help you out.

What's Next?

At this point, you’ve got the basics of AWS S3 under your belt. But if you’re ready to take things a step further and use AWS S3 programmatically, I’ve got another blog article just for you. In that article, I’ll walk you through how to interact with AWS S3 using the AWS SDK and perform read and write operations on your buckets.

For now, I encourage you to explore AWS S3 on your own. Get familiar with the dashboard, create more buckets, and try uploading files. It’s a great way to get comfortable with how it works.

Final Thoughts

I hope this blog has helped you get started with AWS S3. If it did, don’t forget to hit that like button and share your thoughts in the comments. What did you think? What can I improve? What should I cover next? Your feedback means a lot to me!

Until next time, keep exploring and experimenting with AWS S3. And when you’re ready to take your project to the next level, check out my other blog on using AWS SDK to interact with S3 programmatically.

See you in the next blog!

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