Restoring Archived Objects
Objects archived to Amazon S3 Glacier are not accessible in real time. You must first
initiate a
restore request, and then wait until a temporary copy of the object is available for
the
duration (number of days) that you specify in the request. The time it takes a restore
job
to complete depends on which retrieval option you specify: Standard,
Expedited, or Bulk. You can be notified when your restore is
complete using Amazon S3 event notifications. For more information, see Configuring Amazon S3 Event Notifications.
After you receive a temporary copy of the restored object, the object's storage class
remains GLACIER (a GET or HEAD request will return GLACIER as the
storage class). Note that when you restore an archive you pay for both the archive
(GLACIER
rate) and a copy you restored temporarily (Reduced Redundancy Storage (RRS) rate).
For information about pricing, see
Amazon S3 Pricing.
For information about using lifecycle transitions to move objects to the GLACIER storage class, see Transitioning to the GLACIER Storage Class (Object Archival).
The following topics provide more information.
Topics
Archive Retrieval Options
You can specify one of the following when restoring an archived object:
-
Expedited- Expedited retrievals allow you to quickly access your data when occasional urgent requests for a subset of archives are required. For all but the largest archived objects (250 MB+), data accessed using Expedited retrievals are typically made available within 1–5 minutes. Provisioned capacity ensures that retrieval capacity for Expedited retrievals is available when you need it. For more information, see Provisioned Capacity. -
Standard- Standard retrievals allow you to access any of your archived objects within several hours. Standard retrievals typically complete within 3–5 hours. This is the default option for retrieval requests that do not specify the retrieval option. -
Bulk- Bulk retrievals are Glacier’s lowest-cost retrieval option, enabling you to retrieve large amounts, even petabytes, of data inexpensively in a day. Bulk retrievals typically complete within 5–12 hours.
To make an Expedited, Standard, or Bulk
retrieval, set the Tier request element in the POST Object restore REST API
request to the option you want, or the equivalent in the AWS CLI, or AWS SDKs. If
you have
purchased provisioned capacity, all Expedited retrievals are automatically served
through your provisioned capacity.
You can restore an archived object programmatically or by using the Amazon S3 console. Amazon S3 processes only one restore request at a time per object. You can use both the console and the Amazon S3 API to check the restoration status and to find out when Amazon S3 will delete the restored copy.
Provisioned Capacity
Provisioned capacity ensures that your retrieval capacity for expedited retrievals is available when you need it. Each unit of capacity provides that at least three expedited retrievals can be performed every five minutes and provides up to 150 MB/s of retrieval throughput.
You should purchase provisioned retrieval capacity if your workload requires highly reliable and predictable access to a subset of your data in minutes. Without provisioned capacity Expedited retrievals are accepted, except for rare situations of unusually high demand. However, if you require access to Expedited retrievals under all circumstances, you must purchase provisioned retrieval capacity. You can purchase provisioned capacity using the Amazon S3 console, the Amazon S3 Glacier console, the Purchase Provisioned Capacity REST API, the AWS SDKs, or the AWS CLI. For provisioned capacity pricing information, see Amazon S3 Glacier pricing.
Upgrading the Speed of an In-Progress Restore
Using Amazon S3 restore speed upgrade, you can change the restore speed to a faster speed while the restore is in progress. A restore speed upgrade overrides an in-progress restore with a faster restore tier. You cannot slow down an in-progress restore.
To upgrade the speed of an in-progress restoration, issue another restore request
to the same object that sets a new Tier request element in the POST Object restore REST
API, or the equivalent in the AWS CLI or AWS SDKs. When issuing a request to upgrade
the restore tier, you must choose a tier that is faster than the tier that the
in-progress restore is using. You must not change any other parameters, such as the
Days request element.
You can be notified of the completion of the restore by using Amazon S3 event notifications. For information about restore speed upgrade pricing, see Glacier Pricing.
