AWS has pushed out a welcome storage update that lets users automatically create a replica of a data upload in the same region (but different S3 bucket); adding to an existing feature that let users do this across regions.

Same Region Replication (SRR) aims to offer users an insurance policy against accidental deletion. New uploaded files can automatically replicated at the bucket, prefix, or object tag levels, either by the same or a different account holder.

One advantage of same-region replication is ensuring that data is abiding by data sovereignty laws. Using SSR users can make sure that the critical data they need to back-up is stored locally. In many countries, especially those subject to GDPR, processing and storing sensitive data has to be done locally.

(The offering also serves as a reminder that despite the sprawling complexity and sophistication of the hyperscale cloud providers’ offerings, some user-friendly user options are still only just landing… )

Same Region Replication

Another advantage of SSR is that it allows developers to create a single log library in one S3 bucket. Developers overseeing large organisations often find themselves storing logs in multiple buckets across multiple accounts, with SSR they can replicate logs into a single, in-region bucket.

When an S3 object or data is copied using the SSR function the object tags, access control lists and metadata are all include in the replication. Once the SSR function is enabled on your source bucket any changes made to the data will be copied across to the SSR storage bucket as well.

Amazon state that the SSR replication is configured down at the bucket level or it can be done at the shared prefix level or via an object level using S3 object tags

They note that: “You add a replication configuration on your source bucket by specifying a destination bucket in the same or different AWS region for replication. You can use either the AWS Management Console, the REST API, the AWS CLI, or the AWS SDKs to enable replication. Versioning must be enabled for both the source and destination buckets to enable replication.”

See Also: Creative Commons, Coil, Mozilla Launch $100 Million “Micropayments” Innovation Fund