AWS flicks switch for cloud storage replication

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has done something rather useful to its simple storage service (S3), namely making it possible to replicate data across regions.

For the uninitiated, S3 is a cloud storage service that allows users to stuff stuff into the cloud, and even pick a “region” where it will land. AWS operates nine S3 regions^* all over the world and while they're all more or less equivalent, the one nearest you typically offers superior latency or may reside in a jurisdiction that meets your compliance requirements.

S3 has, hitherto, forced users to chose one region for their data.

But the company has now switched on a new feature called “Cross-Region Replication” that does what it says on the can: replicate data among the company's regions.

The new feature looks pretty simple: you can set a policy and your S3 bucket will henceforth replicate the data it contains to a second region. You could, therefore, choose to replicate between Ireland and Sydney, which means a hypothetical mid-Atlantic meteorite strike that took out the USA and Europe would leave you able to serve Asian customers. For the year or two before the dust cloud kills off the crops and leads to mass famine, anyway.

The replication service is available now. ®

^* S3 regions can be found in US (standard), Oregon and North California, Ireland, Frankfurt, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Sao Paulo