Storage Options in Aurora

1. Aurora Standard (SSD-backed)

• Default storage for Aurora.

• Good baseline performance with pay-per-IO pricing.

• Uses a burst bucket model for IOPS (similar to gp2 EBS).

• Not ideal under sustained heavy I/O because performance is tied to storage size.

• Cost can spike with high I/O workloads.

2. Aurora I/O-Optimized

• Purpose-built for I/O-intensive applications.

• No I/O charges – pay only for storage and compute.

• Provides consistently high throughput and low-latency performance, even under spikes.

• Best choice for unpredictable traffic patterns, like live streaming or event-driven media.

• Predictable billing, simplifies operations (no IOPS provisioning).

3. Provisioned IOPS (io1-style)

• Not directly configurable in Aurora (abstracted away).

• Conceptually allows tuning IOPS, but would add manual management and higher costs.

• Not supported for Aurora storage classes.

4. Magnetic (Standard)

• Legacy option.

• High latency, low throughput.

• Not suitable for production Aurora workloads.

• Not supported in modern Aurora deployments.