Sign In to the Console
AWS Snowball
Developer Guide

AWS Documentation » AWS Snowball » Developer Guide » What Is an AWS Snowball Edge? » AWS Snowball Device Differences

This guide is for the Snowball Edge. If you are looking for documentation for the Snowball, see the AWS Snowball User Guide.

AWS Snowball Device Differences

The Snowball and the Snowball Edge are two different devices. This guide is for the Snowball Edge. If you are looking for documentation for the Snowball, see the AWS Snowball User Guide. Both devices allow you to move huge amounts of data into and out of Amazon S3, they both have the same job management API, and they both use the same console. However, the two devices differ in hardware specifications, some features, what transfer tools are used, and price.

Snowball Edge Device Options

Snowball Edge devices have three options for device configurations:

  • Snowball Edge Storage Optimized – This option of Snowball Edge device has the most storage capacity at up to 80 TB of useable storage space, 24 vCPUs, and 32 GiB of memory for compute functionality.

  • Snowball Edge Compute Optimized – This option of Snowball Edge device has the most compute functionality with 52 vCPUs, 208 GiB of memory, and 7.68 TB of dedicated NVMe SSD storage for instances. This option also comes with 42 TB of additional storage space.

  • Snowball Edge Compute Optimized with GPU – This option of Snowball Edge devices is identical to the compute optimized option, save for an installed GPU, equivalent to the one available in the P3 Amazon EC2 instance type.

For more information on the compute functionality of these three options, see Using Amazon EC2 Compute Instances.

Note

When this guide refers to Snowball Edge devices, it's referring to all optional variants of the device. Whenever specific information applies only to one or more optional configurations of devices, like how the Snowball Edge Compute Optimized with GPU option has an on-board GPU peripheral, it will be mentioned explicitly.

AWS Snowball Use Case Differences

Following is a table that shows the different use cases for the different AWS Snowball devices:

Use Case Snowball Snowball Edge
Import data into Amazon S3 ✓ ✓
Export from Amazon S3 ✓ ✓
Durable local storage ✓
Local compute with AWS Lambda ✓
Local compute instances ✓
Durable Amazon S3 storage in a cluster of devices ✓
Use with AWS IoT Greengrass (IoT) ✓
Transfer files through NFS with a GUI ✓
GPU workloads ✓

Note

Workloads that need GPU support require the Snowball Edge Compute Optimized with GPU option.

AWS Snowball Hardware Differences

Following is a table that shows how the devices differ from each other, physically. For information on specifications for the Snowball, see AWS Snowball Specifications. For information on specifications for the Snowball Edge, see AWS Snowball Edge Specifications.

Snowball Snowball Edge
The Snowball is a large briefcase-sized device that weighs less than 50 pounds and is used to transfer data.
The Snowball Edge is a large briefcase-sized device that weighs less than 50 pounds and is used to transfer, store, or compute data.

Each device has different storage capacities, as follows:

  • Snowball

    • 50 TB (42 TB usable) only available in US regions

    • 80 TB (72 TB usable)

  • Snowball Edge Storage Optimized

    • 100 TB (80 TB usable)

  • Snowball Edge Compute Optimized

    • 42 TB (39.5 usable) plus 7.68 TB of dedicated NVMe SSD for compute instances

  • Snowball Edge Compute Optimized with GPU

    • 42 TB (39.5 usable) plus 7.68 TB of dedicated NVMe SSD for compute instances

Each device has the following physical interfaces for management purposes:

Physical interface Snowball Snowball Edge
E Ink display – used to track shipping information and configure IP addresses. ✓ ✓
LCD display – used to manage connections and provide some administrative functions. ✓

AWS Snowball Tool Differences

The following outlines the different tools used with the AWS Snowball devices, and how they are used:

Snowball Tools

Snowball client with Snowball

  • The Snowball client must be downloaded from the AWS Snowball Edge Resources page and installed on your own powerful workstation.

  • Can transfer data to or from the Snowball. For more information, see Using the Snowball Client.

  • Encrypts data on your powerful workstation before the data is transferred to the Snowball.

Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball with Snowball

Snowball Edge Tools

Snowball client with Snowball Edge

  • The Snowball client must be downloaded from the AWS Snowball Edge Resources page and installed on your own computer.

  • Must be used to unlock the Snowball Edge or the cluster of Snowball Edge devices. For more information, see Using the Snowball Client.

  • Can't be used to transfer data.

Amazon S3 Adapter for Snowball with Snowball Edge

  • Is already installed on the Snowball Edge by default. It does not need to be downloaded or installed.

  • Can transfer data to or from the Snowball Edge. For more information, see Using the Amazon S3 Adapter.

  • Encrypts data on the Snowball Edge while the data is transferred to the device.

File interface with Snowball Edge

  • Is already installed on the Snowball Edge by default. It does not need to be downloaded or installed.

  • Can transfer data by dragging and dropping files up to 150 GB in size from your computer to the buckets on the Snowball Edge through an easy-to-configure NFS mount point. For more information, see Using the File Interface for the AWS Snowball Edge.

  • Encrypts data on the Snowball Edge while the data is transferred to the device.

AWS IoT Greengrass console with Snowball Edge

  • With a Snowball Edge, you can use the AWS IoT Greengrass console to update your AWS IoT Greengrass group and the core running on the Snowball Edge.

Differences Between Items Provided for the Snowball and Snowball Edge

The following outlines the differences between the network adapters, cables used, and cables provided for the Snowball and Snowball Edge.

Network Interface Snowball Support Snowball Edge Support Cables Provided with Device
RJ45 ✓ ✓ Only provided with Snowball
SFP+ ✓ ✓ Only provided with Snowball
SFP+ (with optic connector) ✓ ✓ No cables provided for either device. No optic connector provided for Snowball Edge devices. An optic connector is provided with each Snowball
QSFP   ✓ No cables or optics provided

For more information on the network interfaces, cables, and connectors that work with the different device types, see the following topics:

AWS Snowball Other Differences

For other differences, including FAQs and pricing information, see: