🧭 Introduction
Many organizations still rely on file-based workloads running on-premises. These workloads often depend on traditional protocols such as NFS or SMB, making a full and immediate migration to cloud-native storage challenging.
Refactoring applications, retraining teams, or changing workflows is not always feasible.
🔗 AWS Storage File Gateway provides a pragmatic hybrid solution: it allows applications to continue using familiar file system interfaces while storing data durably and securely in Amazon S3.
In this article, we will cover:
- 📌 What AWS Storage File Gateway is
- ⚙️ How it works internally
- 🏗️ Architecture and diagrams
- 🔐 Security and cost optimization
- 🚦 When to use (and when not to)
📦 What Is AWS Storage File Gateway?
AWS Storage File Gateway is part of AWS Storage Gateway, a hybrid cloud storage service.
It exposes Amazon S3 buckets as file shares using standard protocols:
- 🐧 NFS for Linux and Unix systems
- 🪟 SMB for Windows environments
From the application's point of view, it behaves like a traditional file server.
Behind the scenes, files are stored as objects in Amazon S3.
🏗️ High-Level Architecture
At a high level, Storage File Gateway consists of a gateway appliance, local storage for caching, and Amazon S3 as the durable backend.
+------------------------------+
| 🖥️ On-Prem Apps |
| (Linux / Windows) |
+--------------+---------------+
|
NFS / SMB
|
+--------------v---------------+
| 🧩 Storage File Gateway |
| (Virtual Machine) |
| - ⚡ Local Cache |
| - 📤 Upload Buffer |
+--------------+---------------+
|
🔐 Encrypted HTTPS
|
+--------------v---------------+
| ☁️ Amazon S3 |
| - Standard / IA |
| - Intelligent Tiering |
| - Glacier (Lifecycle) |
+------------------------------+
The gateway can be deployed:
- On-premises (VMware, Hyper-V, KVM)
- In AWS (Amazon EC2)
⚙️ How Storage File Gateway Works
✍️ Write Operations
Write operations are optimized for low latency by acknowledging writes locally before data is uploaded to Amazon S3.
WRITE OPERATION ✍️
------------------
+------------------+
| Application |
+--------+---------+
|
v
+--------+---------+
| NFS / SMB Write |
+--------+---------+
|
v
+--------+---------------------+
| 🧩 Storage File Gateway |
+--------+---------------------+
|
| ⚡ Cached Locally
|
+-----------> 📤 Async Upload
|
v
+-----------------------------+
| ☁️ Amazon S3 |
+-----------------------------+
✅ Benefits:
- Fast local writes
- Durable cloud storage
- Minimal application impact
📥 Read Operations
For read requests, the gateway first checks its local cache.
READ OPERATION 📥
-----------------
+------------------+
| Application |
+--------+---------+
|
v
+--------+---------+
| NFS / SMB Read |
+--------+---------+
|
v
+--------+---------------------+
| 🧩 Storage File Gateway |
+--------+---------------------+
|
| Cache Hit?
| |
| +-- ⚡ Yes --> Serve Locally
|
+-- ❌ No --> ☁️ Fetch from S3
|
v
+-----------------------------+
| Cache & Serve |
+-----------------------------+
🔥 Frequently accessed ("hot") files remain cached locally for better performance.
💰 Storage Classes & Cost Optimization
Because data is stored in Amazon S3, you can automatically optimize costs using S3 lifecycle policies.
+------------------+
| 📁 New Files |
+--------+---------+
|
v
+------------------+
| ☁️ S3 Standard |
+--------+---------+
|
| After 30–90 days
v
+------------------+
| 💾 S3 Standard-IA|
+--------+---------+
|
| After 180+ days
v
+------------------+
| 🧊 S3 Glacier |
| Deep Archive |
+------------------+
💡 Result:
- Lower storage costs over time
- No change required on the application side
🔐 Security & Identity Integration
Storage File Gateway includes enterprise-grade security features.
+--------------------+
| 🪟 Windows Users |
+---------+----------+
|
SMB
|
+---------v----------+
| 🧩 File Gateway |
| (SMB Share) |
+---------+----------+
|
🔑 Auth via AD
|
+---------v----------+
| 🏢 Active Directory|
+--------------------+
📦 Data Path
|
v
+--------------------+
| ☁️ Amazon S3 |
| 🔐 KMS Encrypted |
+--------------------+
🔒 Key security features:
- Encryption in transit (TLS)
- Encryption at rest (AWS KMS)
- IAM-based access control
- Active Directory integration
- Audit logs via AWS CloudTrail
🎯 Common Use Cases
🏢 Hybrid File Storage
- Keep apps on-premises
- Gain cloud durability
- Avoid refactoring
🗄️ Backup & Archiving
- File-based backup target
- Long-term retention using Glacier
🚚 Lift-and-Shift Migrations
- Migrate file shares to S3
- Modernize later at your own pace
🎥 Content Repositories
- Media assets
- Logs & reports
- Shared documents
⚡ Performance Best Practices
To get the best performance:
- 📏 Size the local cache correctly
- 🌐 Use low-latency, high-bandwidth links
- 💽 Separate cache and upload buffer disks
- 📊 Monitor cache hit ratios and throughput
🚫 When NOT to Use Storage File Gateway
Storage File Gateway may not be the best choice if:
- You need low latency for all data
- Your workload is fully cloud-native
- You need object-level (S3 API) access
👉 Alternatives:
- Amazon EFS
- Amazon FSx
- Native Amazon S3
🔄 Comparison with Other AWS Storage Services
| Service | Best Use Case |
|---|---|
| 🧩 Storage File Gateway | Hybrid file storage |
| 📂 Amazon EFS | Cloud-native shared FS |
| 🗃️ Amazon FSx | Windows / Lustre / NetApp |
| ☁️ Amazon S3 | Object storage |
✅ Conclusion
AWS Storage File Gateway is a powerful bridge between traditional file systems and cloud-native storage. It enables organizations to adopt Amazon S3 without disrupting existing applications, while benefiting from AWS security, durability, and cost efficiency.
For hybrid environments, legacy workloads, and gradual cloud migrations, Storage File Gateway remains a key AWS storage service. ☁️
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