AWS EBS (Elastic Block Store) Interview Questions and Answers

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) is a cloud-based storage service that provides persistent
block-level storage volumes for use with EC2 instances. It is essential for running databases,
applications, and systems that require high availability and durability. Below are some common
interview questions and answers about AWS EBS.

1. What is Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)?

Answer:
Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) is a scalable, persistent block storage service provided by
AWS for use with Amazon EC2 instances. EBS volumes are like virtual hard drives that you can
attach to your EC2 instances to store data, applications, and system files. EBS provides persistent
storage, meaning data is retained even when the EC2 instance is stopped or terminated, making it
ideal for databases, applications, and other workloads that require persistent storage.

2. What are the different types of EBS volumes in AWS?

Answer:
AWS offers several types of EBS volumes designed to meet different performance, cost, and
storage needs. The main types are:

1. General Purpose SSD (gp3, gp2):

o Designed for a broad range of workloads including development, testing, small to
medium-sized databases, and boot volumes.
o gp3: Offers more consistent performance and the ability to provision IOPS and
throughput independently of storage size.
o gp2: Performance is linked to the size of the volume.
2. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1, io2):
o Designed for I/O-intensive applications such as large relational or NoSQL
databases.
o Provides high performance with low latency and high IOPS (Input/Output
Operations Per Second).
o io2: Offers higher durability and more IOPS than io1.
3. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1):
o Designed for large, sequential workloads like big data, data warehouses, and log
processing.
o Offers a lower cost option for workloads requiring high throughput but not
necessarily low latency.
4. Cold HDD (sc1):
o Best suited for infrequently accessed data and cold storage. It’s a cost-effective
choice for archive storage where low throughput is acceptable.
 5. Magnetic (standard):
o Older and less commonly used. It is primarily for workloads that require lower-
cost storage and can tolerate slower access times.

3. What are the main differences between gp2 and gp3 EBS volumes?

Answer:

 gp2:
o General-purpose SSD volumes.
o IOPS is tied to the size of the volume (3 IOPS per GB).
o Maximum throughput of 250 MB/s.
o Burst performance with a baseline of 100 IOPS, and it can burst up to 3,000 IOPS
for volumes larger than 100 GiB.
 gp3:
o Also general-purpose SSD volumes but with more flexibility.
o IOPS and throughput can be provisioned independently of the volume size.
o Supports up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s throughput.
o Lower cost than gp2 for workloads that require higher performance.

4. What is the difference between EBS and instance store volumes?

Answer:

 EBS Volumes:
o Persistent storage, meaning data remains intact even after stopping or terminating
an EC2 instance.
o Can be detached and reattached to different instances.
o Suitable for applications requiring durable storage, such as databases.
 Instance Store Volumes:
o Temporary storage that is physically attached to the host machine.
o Data is lost when the EC2 instance is stopped or terminated.
o High I/O performance but unsuitable for applications requiring persistent data
storage.

5. How can you increase the size of an EBS volume?

Answer:
You can increase the size of an EBS volume with the following steps:
 1. Modify the EBS volume: In the AWS Management Console, go to the EBS section,
select the volume, and choose "Modify Volume." You can increase the size, adjust the
IOPS (for io1/io2), or change the volume type.
2. Extend the file system: After modifying the volume, you also need to extend the file
system on the EC2 instance to recognize the increased space. This can be done using
commands like resize2fs for Linux or diskpart for Windows.

The volume is resized immediately, but the filesystem on the instance needs to be extended
manually.

6. What is an EBS Snapshot?

Answer:
An EBS Snapshot is a point-in-time backup of an EBS volume. Snapshots are incremental,
meaning that only changes made since the last snapshot are saved, which helps reduce costs and
storage space. Snapshots are stored in Amazon S3 and can be used to:

 Restore an EBS volume to a previous state.

 Create new volumes from snapshots.
 Transfer data between AWS regions (cross-region snapshots).

Snapshots can be taken while the volume is in use, making it easy to back up your data without
disrupting operations.

7. How do you restore an EBS volume from a snapshot?

Answer:
To restore an EBS volume from a snapshot:

1. Go to the Snapshots section of the EC2 Console.

2. Select the snapshot you want to restore from.
3. Click on "Create Volume" and select the desired Availability Zone.
4. Once the volume is created, you can attach it to an EC2 instance just like a regular EBS
volume.

This creates a new volume with the same data as when the snapshot was taken.

8. What is EBS Encryption, and how does it work?

Answer:
EBS Encryption is a feature that provides data encryption at rest, in transit, and during the
creation of snapshots. It is available for all EBS volume types (gp2, gp3, io1, io2, st1, sc1) and is
enabled by default for new volumes in certain accounts.

When you create an encrypted volume:

 AWS uses AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to manage the encryption keys.
 The volume is automatically encrypted, as well as any snapshots or volumes created from
it.
 Data is encrypted at rest, and communication between the EC2 instance and the EBS
volume is encrypted.

You can enable EBS encryption when creating a volume, and it can also be applied retroactively
to existing volumes using EBS Snapshots.

9. What are the best practices for EBS performance optimization?

Answer:

1. Choose the right volume type: Select the appropriate EBS volume type (e.g., gp3 for
general-purpose workloads or io2 for high IOPS workloads) based on your performance
requirements.
2. Optimize your EC2 instance type: Ensure that the EC2 instance is capable of
supporting the performance of the attached EBS volume (e.g., sufficient network
throughput).
3. Enable EBS-optimized instances: Use EBS-optimized EC2 instances for better
throughput between the EC2 instance and the EBS volume.
4. Use RAID configurations: For certain workloads (e.g., databases), using RAID
(Redundant Array of Independent Disks) can improve both performance and fault
tolerance.
5. Leverage EBS Burst Balance: Ensure that your volumes (e.g., gp2) have enough burst
credit for periods of high I/O demand.
6. Monitor EBS metrics: Use Amazon CloudWatch to monitor EBS performance metrics
like throughput, IOPS, and latency to identify and address potential bottlenecks.

10. Can you attach an EBS volume to multiple EC2 instances at the same time?

Answer:
No, standard EBS volumes can only be attached to a single EC2 instance at any given time.
However, there are two exceptions:
 1. EBS Multi-Attach: This feature allows you to attach a io1 or io2 volume to multiple
EC2 instances simultaneously within the same Availability Zone. It is primarily used for
highly available applications that need shared access to the same block-level storage,
such as clustered databases.
2. Amazon EFS: If you need shared access to file storage across multiple EC2 instances,
you can use Amazon EFS (Elastic File System), which is designed for scalable file
storage and can be mounted by multiple EC2 instances concurrently.

11. How can you increase the IOPS of an EBS volume?

Answer:
To increase the IOPS of an EBS volume:

1. If you are using a Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1 or io2), you can modify the volume to
increase its IOPS. This can be done in the EC2 Console or using the AWS CLI.
2. For gp3 volumes, you can independently adjust the IOPS and throughput without
resizing the volume. You can increase the IOPS up to 16,000 for a gp3 volume.
3. After modifying the IOPS, ensure that your EC2 instance type can support the increased
throughput.

12. What is EBS-optimized instance, and why should I use it?

Answer:
An EBS-optimized instance is an EC2 instance type that provides dedicated throughput
between the instance and EBS volumes. EBS-optimized instances provide better performance for
applications that require high levels of disk I/O, such as databases.

Using EBS-optimized instances ensures that your instance can handle heavy read/write
operations without network bottlenecks, providing more consistent performance for your EBS
volumes.

These are some of the key AWS EBS interview questions and answers that will help you prepare
for an interview. Understanding the different EBS volume types, best practices, and optimization
techniques is essential for managing storage efficiently in AWS.