AWS Snowball Reviews

For the most part, I use it when I'm doing large-scale migrations where the customer has multiple terabytes of data and not enough network bandwidth to send those files. I'll load those onto Snowball, send them to Snowball, and then sync once it's there. Sometimes the truck's faster than the Internet. I've used it in other scenarios. 

I have a customer that also uses it regularly. They have what's known as an edge location. It collects large amounts of data over four to six week periods. They rotate pulling one Snowball out and putting another in, then send the Snowball off to get the data into their systems. There are other scenarios where I've used it.

I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in. The interface for getting my data onto the Snowball is so streamlined. I don't know if you've ever seen it before. It's really cool. I connect them to the backplane of our existing network. I'm able to address it quickly and move the data quickly inside my customers' data centers. There's a little screen on it, which changes the UPS codes and all that stuff. The label and everything AWS electronic, so I don't have to deal with shipping issues. It makes it super simple and easy to use from end to end.

I've used it and yet never thought: "if only it did this." It also comes with Greengrass on it, however, I've never had a use case for it. It would give it some IoT capabilities.

I have been using it off and on since it came out in 2015 or 2016.

I've never had one with a problem.

It's kind of fixed storage. I can order multiple if I need more data than one holds. The struggle is moving multiple petabytes of data; there's a top end. I'm not going to send 100 of these to make it happen. 

The support team's awesome. They have always been very responsive, as long as I know how to work. Most of my customers are enterprise, and my customers have technical account managers attached to their accounts. We have a structured approach, not like a consumer type where you call into a line. We alert the TAM for events like Snowball AWS moving, and they do some white glove activities around it. It's structured nicely for us.

Positive

It's super straightforward. They've done everything to eliminate guessing during implementation. I just log in, follow the instructions, and it goes.

It's not cheap, however, it's cheaper than network costs. I'd say it has a solid ROI. I could solve these customers' problems by putting a Direct connection with a much larger bandwidth scenario. That's going to cost, and the customer may only get value for a short period, signing a two-year commitment and not getting two years' worth of value. It's going to be expensive with network drops into their data center, usually running a couple of hundred grand. There are significant costs it avoids when used. Someone might complain, however, the total ROI is really good.

Azure doesn't really have a solution for these use cases. Google and Azure are not out there trying to do the same thing. None of those guys are really with it.

For scalability, I would rate it as eight out of ten. I'd say it would meet 90 percent of use cases. There may be some edge cases where it might need a little more storage. 

The support team's awesome, and they've always been very responsive. It's a pretty unique solution in the landscape. 

I use AWS extensively for commercial companies. These companies, which want to sell online, often utilize many AWS tools that allow them to develop applications. I focus on the infrastructure of AWS, managing all things related to computing, storage, and network.

BTW, Disaster Recovery: Organizations use Snowball to back up critical data off-site quickly

Research & Development: Researchers working with genomic or scientific datasets benefit from faster data transfer to the cloud for analysis.

Accelerated Data Migration, Cost Efficiency, Enhanced Data Security, Operational Simplification, Reliable in Remote Locations and Scalable Solutions for Big Data

Edge Computing (Snowball Edge),

Scalability with AWS Ecosystem

Durability and Portability

High-Capacity Data Transfer

It's difficult to make a comparison and it depends on the customer. 

When analyzing costs, I must see how the customer uses AWS, Azure, or Google. Google is particularly interesting, for example, for all kinds of databases, with costs on GCP being less expensive for Postgres than AWS, which is more expensive than Azure. 

It depends on which customer and which zone. For instance, it's difficult to propose GCP for someone in Australia; I might propose AWS or Azure instead. The costs of services the customer needs also matter, such as storage requirements and whether storage is rational. It depends on the network.

I have used the solution for one year and a half.

In terms of stability, it's an eight or nine out of ten.

It has high scalability, rating it a nine out of ten. I could say ten, however, AWS cloud infrastructure focuses on high scalability.

Customer service depends on the SLA. A 24/7 contract is good enough. However, it depends on the chosen plan and its cost. 24/7 support is more expensive on AWS compared to Azure. 

Positive

I am not working for Atos anymore. It's been two years since I left and started working as a freelancer for my own company CIDNS (Cloud Infrastructure Digital and Network Services).

For someone who is not specialized in networking and computing, it is challenging. However, the platform is accessible for AWS users. It is not difficult for me, yet it can be challenging for someone else.

AWS involves jumping from a local environment to the cloud, requiring calculations for saved costs and time. The main objectives of the cloud include availability, scalability, and cost savings. 

Depending on what I do, I might not remove acquisition costs for machines or hardware. Some services can be expensive. It's my job to assess if the quality and costs align.

Depending of what is your priority; 
UseAWS Snowball if you are heavily invested in AWS or need edge computing features

Choose Azure Data Box for smooth integration with Azure and potentially lower costs for large datasets.

Opt for Google Transfer Appliance if your workload resides in Google Cloud and you prioritize simplicity.

Azure Data Box Gateway, Google Transfer Appliance

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I use Amazon products in two instances. 

First, I run a startup leveraging AWS, where our workloads are on the cloud. 

Second, I help customers using AWS cloud. I work as an authorized instructor with training partners.

AWS offers managed services which save time and reduce administrative overhead. I can leverage different tools and resources to solve problems in various domains, including development, networking, and data science. AWS also offers continuous innovation with new product updates, making tasks easier for customers.

AWS support could be more responsive. For instance, there was a delay in response when a customer faced issues creating an account, particularly around phone number confirmation.

For the project my team and I have been working on, we have used EBS for about a year now.

Besides intermittent instance failures, I have not faced other stability issues. I would rate stability at seven out of ten.

EBS can scale, but it requires manual scaling. I would rate it at seven out of ten.

I use the community support frequently, though response times for direct support could be improved as it sometimes takes about 24 hours to get a response.

Positive

A project used SQS initially, however, due to high costs, we switched to CloudFront.

Understanding AWS services requires prior knowledge. It's not something you can use directly without it.

The cost of using services like SQS can increase significantly, as frequent polling becomes expensive.

AWS helps save time and costs, being a managed cloud provider with evolving services. The overall product rating I give is nine out of ten.

I've used AWS Snowball mainly for data transfer, migration, and disaster recovery. It's great for moving large amounts of data securely and efficiently.

The features I like best are the tool's high capacity, scalability, end-to-end encryption for data security, ease of use, durability, and cost-effectiveness. It's particularly cost-effective for transferring large amounts of data compared to high-speed internet transfers.

It has been helpful with end-to-end encryption, tamper-evident seals and sensors, and access control through AWS Identity and Access Management. This lets me control who can access and manage the device. It also helps with logging and monitoring and provides physical security.

There's always room for improvement as you use the service more and gain expertise. Some challenges I've faced include the time factor (data transfer can be time-consuming), data validation after the transfer, risks associated with physical handling and shipping of the device, and ensuring data security during transit.

I haven't encountered any stability issues. 

I have contacted AWS support before. You need 24/7 support from AWS, especially for issues that can come up during the data transfer process. Their support team is knowledgeable, particularly about AWS Snowball and other AWS services, so reaching out to them is necessary when critical issues arise. While AWS provides extensive documentation and guides that can often help resolve problems, having access to their support is crucial. We have in-house experts familiar with the services, so we only rely on AWS for more critical issues. When we do contact them, their response time is quick.

Neutral

The integration process involves several steps in the AWS management console - creating a job, specifying job type (import or export), providing storage details, choosing the right device, and setting it up when it arrives. 

The tool's pricing depends on the type of Snowball device you choose, the amount of data you need to transfer, and the service fees involved. There’s a standard price for larger data transfers and a flat job fee, which includes the first ten days of on-site usage. Typically, there are no additional data transfer fees.

I would recommend AWS Snowball for its efficiency, especially in data transfer. It might take time to set up due to shipping, but once the device is in place, it simplifies data transfer and ensures security with built-in encryption features. I would rate AWS Snowball an eight out of ten. 

AWS Snowball is positioned to help clients move data from on-premises environments to AWS Cloud securely. It serves as an AWS hybrid model, which clients can utilize locally at their convenient time to secure data transfer to AWS data centers or warehouses.

Snowball's cost-effective structure allows organizations to pay on demand or upfront, facilitating cost management and ensuring that they only use what they need. This flexibility supports clients, particularly those far from data centers that need to manage data migration and workloads.

The flexibility of AWS Snowball is valuable. Its security allows for the ability to move and secure data without concern if the device is lost and the option to trace it back to AWS data centers. Additionally, its TransSearch features aid in data transfer with steps for connection and encryption, which ensures data security even if the Snowball is mishandled.

If AWS Snowball is intercepted, there is a potential risk of unauthorized access to the data. It is fragile, and mishandling it could lead to data loss, and data could be tampered with upon receipt. An improvement should be made to manage these risks and enhance security features during transportation and handling.

I have been working with AWS Snowball for the past three years.

AWS Snowball is very stable, especially for clients who want to keep their data on-premises without accessing AWS via a site-to-site VPN or Direct Connect. It effectively facilitates data transfer from on-premises to AWS for storage.

AWS Snowball does not inherently present scalability issues, but it can become challenging for clients needing scalability once the device has been returned. Continuous requests may be necessary if clients need to scale urgently before the Snowball reaches its destination.

We have a technical team that manages customer service, so I have not needed to engage technical support directly.

Positive

I have worked with Microsoft Azure. Azure requires purchasing storage space upfront, whether fully utilized or not, which differs from AWS Snowball’s flexible pricing structure.

The initial setup of AWS Snowball is straightforward and simplified. There are clear instructions on how to use and connect it, with reminders for encrypting data before transfer.

Clients need guidance during the safe transfer of encrypted data. Following data encryption, I advise clients to confirm details with recipients to ensure correct data handling and storage within AWS databases.

The return on investment is flexible with AWS Snowball's pricing structure, allowing clients to pay as needed or commit upfront, thus managing expenses effectively while using the space required for their data migration needs.

AWS Snowball's pricing is affordable, offering two payment models: on-demand and committed upfront pricing. This affordability makes it accessible for organizations of different sizes, supporting their specific data migration and storage needs.

Apart from AWS Snowball, Microsoft Azure solutions were explored. Key differences include Snowball's flexibility and cost-effectiveness in comparison to Azure's fixed pricing model.

Considering AWS Snowball's flexibility, clients can use it to test the security of their data transfer to AWS. It is particularly beneficial in regions with strict data sovereignty laws, ensuring that data remains within the country unless permitted otherwise.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

I use AWS Snowball to help with large-scale data transfers for my clients. One of them uses FortiGuard for security purposes and backup storage. Since shipping Snowball devices to Pakistan isn't allowed, I find it handy for them to securely transfer and store massive amounts of data without relying solely on internet connections, making the process faster and more efficient.

The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility.

I think AWS Snowball could improve by expanding its availability to more countries. Currently, it is limited, and in my case, FortiWeb isn't accessible in Pakistan due to shipping restrictions. A broader reach would enable more people to use and benefit from the solution.

I have been using AWS Snowball for a year.

It is very stable. I would rate the stability as a nine out of ten.

I would rate the scalability as a nine out of ten. My clients are mostly medium-sized businesses.

The technical support is a ten out of ten.

Positive

I would rate the easiness of the initial setup as an eight out of ten. The deployment time for AWS Snowball varies based on the project size. Simple projects can be done in-house, while complex ones may take days or even months, depending on the specific requirements and the company's needs.

While AWS Snowball is a great product, it is very costly.

Overall, I would rate AWS Snowball as a ten out of ten.

We are trying to model the solution with some other vendors like Azure on a public cloud environment. We are creating some scale models will identify the public cloud networks over the internet. We are trying to evaluate the functionality.

We are currently exploring the solution, as it's still quite new to our organization. 

We are experiencing a few glitches that could be improved. The stability could be adjusted.

We've been using the solution for three months.

The stability of the solution isn't ideal and should be improved.

You are able to scale the solution vertically. It's very scalable.

We have eight to ten thousand users on the solution currently.

We've been satisfied with technical support.

The actual implementation on the production side is complex. To understand it is very simple, however. 

We've had AWS consultants assist us with the implementation.

We have an entirely public cloud environment. Once it has been successfully deployed on the public channel we can't extend that functionality to the hybrid one. 

We're a very large company with around 20 million users that include architects, developers, and admin and staff.

It's a very nice service. We'd highly recommend it. I'd rate it eight out of ten.

Our primary use case for Snowball is ETL data extract. Transform and load. That's what we're using Snowball for at the moment. So basically adding an analytical layer on top of the current data warehouses for some of our customers.

From our point of view, one of the most important features are the ability to combine, to mesh data together. Also, the ability to have them compute out of AWS rather than buying our own infrastructure.

It does have room for improvement. The ability to better ingest some of the big data.

Also, improvement with prepackaging of the tool, rather than trying to use the developer set. Meaning to prepackage the solution better for different industries. Today, you don't get to prepackage, you have to build a lot of this from scratch.

I have a list of 40 items on my desk, which I shared with AWS to hopefully help them in their road map on the next program.

I have been using AWS for about three years now and Snowball for the last six, seven months.

I find it extremely stable compared to the rest. I think maybe because of the infrastructure AWS provides.

With AWS you can scale, you have elastic scalability.

In our company we are 100-150 users. Not all technicians, some are end users. Some are technicians, some are services for providing solutions to customers down the line.

Our experience with technical support is very good. Very, very good. There's been a lot of technical support. We are an APN partner here.

We just got into data migration recently, so we just began with AWS out and out. We find it easy to use.

The setup is really easy. For me it's easy but I don't know about for the rest

Last week we deployed it in three days maximum from start to finish for one build. One dashboard literally.

In terms of advice for future users, plan to assess your data correctly and make sure that the AWS architecture is built correctly.

We are part of the AWS Partner network.

This is a product used to upload huge amounts of data into the cloud. That's the scope of it. For that purpose, it's authentic, and I don't think that there are competitive alternatives available.

You can upload huge amounts of data like archiving.

I know that this product works very well. There is a logistic process behind it.

With Snowball, you ship physical discs to Amazon to have it uploaded to the cloud.

It's a nice way of shipping a lot of data without using a network.

The interface is great! It's user-friendly.

The most valuable feature is the upload of data at a high speed for a low cost.

It's not an easy product to start using for a beginner, but If you're a professional, it's easy to understand.

This is not a product for beginners. It's not an end user's tool, it's a tool to be used by service providers or large companies with experienced people and for them, the interface is ok. It has excellent detail.

I have not used this product at all, but I know about it through research. 

We have investigated this solution thoroughly.

This solution is stable.

This solution is very scalable.

We have not contacted technical support.

The initial setup is complex.

This is not something for an end-user. You would have to get some help with it.

It's not a cheap solution, but the price is right for the product.

We are currently using Microsoft Azure for authentication with Okta for a single sign-on.

We have just looked at this product, but will most likely use it in the future.

We have no way of knowing what this product might need until we start using it and exploring the technology accessible.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

I primarily have used the solution to move data. If we have a huge amount of data and we need to move it, we request a Snowball, a box from Amazon. It's shipped to the customer location and we connect it to the environment.

The way the data is moved is very clever. Also, the interface is very simple and user-friendly.

It would be helpful if Snowball provided more kinds of connectivity. That will make it easier to add and move data. 

If AWS or Amazon invested in a software solution that could replace Snowball, it would be a good idea. If AWS invests in and provides for a very powerful storage gateway that can connect to the customer's storage and start making the data transfer, I think it would be better.

The stability is good; I haven't faced any issues so far.

I don't see any way to add more scalability to the product.

I've never had to contact technical support for Snowball directly, but I have for other AWS products and they've always been great.

We didn't previously use a different product. In the past, we'd try to move a smaller amount of data using either command lines or the web databases.

The initial setup was very straightforward. It only requires one or two steps. The time it takes to deploy depends on the customer data, but at maximum, it should take a week. You only need one or two people to deploy the solution.

We handled the implementation ourselves.

You may need to pay customs fees or taxes on the Snowball shipment, but beyond the cost of the solution, that's it.

We did look at other solutions, but we chose Snowball because it's reliable and easy to use and gave us more style and less work.

I was working with the public cloud deployment model.

I would recommend the solution. If you have a large amount of data, it's a perfect way to move it to the cloud.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.