Amazon Web Services (AWS) Import, Export Functionality Goes Public

Amazon (news, site) opens up some more services for its AWS users, allowing fast movement of data between locations.

Now out of limited beta, a new service called AWS Import/Export, provides the ability to move your content into and out of the cloud much easier and quicker.

Get to the Clouds, Faster

Amazon AWS users are making ever larger demands on system infrastructure as companies race for the cheaper resources of the cloud. Amazon's latest addition to the many services on offer, boosts the speed with which users can move data about between their home servers and Amazon's buckets via other storage devices.

The "other storage" in this case is standard eSATA rack devices that comply with Amazon's fairly standard list of requirements. The overall result is that companies can move massive amounts of data between their own services and Amazon without going over the Internet for a reasonable cost.

The service has moved from a closed beta to a public test, but is only open to U.S. clients. European support is promised in the coming months. Practical uses of the service include:

• Data Migration: Loading data into the cloud for the first time has never been faster.
• Disaster Recovery: Using Amazon S3 for storage of your website for disaster recovery purposes? Now you can get your website back up and running faster.
• Offsite Backup: Maybe you want to use S3 to store basic backups, whether full or incremental.
• Direct Data Exchange: Partners send you data on devices on a regular basis? Now they can send that data directly to your S3 bucket.

Charges are US$ 80 per device and US$ 2.49 per hour of use with standard Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) fees.

Amazon provides a useful calculator for data center owners and enterprises that need to do the math. It can help you work out the cost and determine if it is worth moving data over your current connection or switching to AWS.