Your S3 Files Have Secrets: Unlocking Storage Class Metadata

Every file in S3 has a storage class. This hidden metadata determines how much you pay, how fast you can access it, and whether retrieval will cost you extra.

Yet most users never look at it until they get an unexpected bill.

What Is Storage Class?
S3 Storage Classes Explained
Cost Impact
Querying Storage Class with FileFortress
Storage Optimization Strategies

What Is Storage Class?

Storage class is S3 metadata that defines:

Storage cost per GB: Ranges from $0.023 to $0.001 per GB/month
Retrieval speed: Instant to 12+ hours
Retrieval cost: Free to $0.03+ per GB
Minimum storage duration: 0 to 180 days

S3 Storage Classes Explained

Class	Storage $/GB	Retrieval	Best For
Standard	$0.023	Instant	Frequently accessed
Intelligent-Tiering	$0.023-0.004	Instant	Unknown access patterns
Standard-IA	$0.0125	Instant	Infrequent access
Glacier Instant	$0.004	Instant	Archive + rare instant access
Glacier Flexible	$0.0036	1 min - 12 hrs	Archive
Glacier Deep Archive	$0.00099	12 - 48 hrs	Long-term archive

Cost Impact

Real Cost Example

10TB of data stored for 1 year:

Standard: $2,760/year
Standard-IA: $1,500/year
Glacier Deep Archive: $119/year

That's a $2,640 difference for the same data!

Querying Storage Class with FileFortress

FileFortress captures storage class metadata during scanning:

# Find all files in Glacier storage
filefortress search --filter "storageClass:GLACIER*"

# Find files in Standard storage (candidates for archiving)
filefortress search --filter "storageClass:STANDARD"

# Find large files in expensive storage
filefortress search --filter "storageClass:STANDARD AND size:>1GB"

# Storage class distribution report
filefortress stats --group-by storageClass

Storage Optimization Strategies

1. Identify Archive Candidates

Find large, old files that could be moved to cheaper storage:

# Large files in standard storage not modified in 6 months
filefortress search --filter "storageClass:STANDARD AND size:>100MB AND modifiedAt:<6months"

2. Audit Glacier Files

Know what's in cold storage before you need it:

# List all Glacier files with sizes
filefortress search --filter "storageClass:GLACIER*" --format "path,size,storageClass"

3. Use Intelligent-Tiering

For files with unpredictable access patterns, let AWS optimize automatically.

Pro Tip

Set up lifecycle rules to automatically transition files to cheaper storage classes. FileFortress helps you identify candidates before configuring these rules.