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Difficulty: MediumHigh-Performing and Scalable Storage Solutions

A company is migrating its corporate Windows-based file share application to AWS. The application uses the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol and integrates with Microsoft Active Directory to enforce file-level permissions (ACLs) and user storage quotas. During peak hours, the storage solution must scale dynamically to deliver up to 2 GB/s2\text{ GB/s} of throughput with sub-millisecond latencies. Which storage solution should a solutions architect recommend to meet these requirements?

  1. Amazon FSx for Windows File ServerAnswer
  2. B
    Amazon EFS with Provisioned Throughput mode
  3. C
    Amazon EBS gp3 volumes attached to multiple EC2 instances using EBS Multi-Attach
  4. D
    Amazon S3 buckets mounted on the Windows EC2 instances using Amazon S3 File Gateway

Answer

Amazon FSx for Windows File Server
The correct option is the one specifying Amazon FSx for Windows File Server. This service is designed specifically for Windows workloads, offering native support for the SMB protocol, Windows ACLs, and Microsoft Active Directory. It supports SSD storage with sub-millisecond latencies and can scale throughput capacity up to 2 GB/s2\text{ GB/s} to meet high-performance demands.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the application requirements: Windows-based, SMB protocol, Microsoft Active Directory integration, ACLs, and user quotas.
Identify that the storage solution must natively support Windows file system features (NTFS and SMB).
This narrows down the choices to Windows-native file systems.
2
Analyze the performance requirements: up to 2 GB/s2\text{ GB/s} throughput and sub-millisecond latency.
Determine that the storage solution must scale throughput independently and offer solid-state drive (SSD) performance levels.
This rules out solutions with limited performance or high latency profiles like S3 File Gateway.
3
Compare the remaining options against AWS service capabilities.
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server fits all criteria, whereas Amazon EFS is NFS-based, Amazon EBS gp3 doesn't support Multi-Attach or clustered SMB out-of-the-box, and S3 File Gateway cannot meet the performance and Windows quota requirements.
To select the highest performance option that meets all business and protocol constraints.

Key Concept

Selecting high-performance, shared storage solutions that support native Windows protocols (SMB) and security integrations.
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Topics

High-Performing and Scalable Storage Solutions

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