Migration and Transfer
CoreAWS Snow Family
Physical devices and edge capabilities for offline data transfer or disconnected/edge processing when network movement is impractical.
Key points
- Select offline transfer only after comparing dataset size, available bandwidth, migration window, security, and handling logistics.
- Devices encrypt data and use controlled import/export workflows; chain of custody still matters.
- Some family devices support edge compute, but the hard constraint should be locality or disconnected operation.
Best-known use cases
- Move very large datasets where the network cannot meet the deadline.
- Process or collect data in disconnected edge locations with supported devices.
What candidates often confuse it with
- Snow Family transfers offline; DataSync transfers online.
- Snow edge compute fits disconnected locality; Outposts brings managed AWS infrastructure to an on-premises site.
Key takeaway
Choose Snow Family when the network or disconnected location is the hard constraint.
Related services
- AWS DataSync
- AWS Storage Gateway
- AWS Outposts
Relevant exam tasks
- D3.5
- D4.1
- D4.2