Block Storage

Block storage is a method of storing data where data is broken down into fixed-size blocks and stored as individual, independent units. Each block is assigned a unique identifier, allowing the operating system to quickly locate and retrieve specific data blocks as needed.

Think of it like a hard drive inside your computer, but instead of being directly connected, it's accessible over a high-speed network. When an application needs to store or retrieve data, it doesn't know or care about the physical location of the data; it simply requests a block of data, and the storage system handles the underlying organization and retrieval. This makes block storage incredibly flexible and efficient for applications that require high performance and low latency, such as databases and virtual machines.

The ECP v2 volumes are market leading in price and performance. There is a fully redundant storage cluster in each Availability Zone (AZ). Volumes are only accessible from compute instances running in the same AZ. All volumes are encrypted at rest. Snapshot and backup features are available.