How Canva Saved $3.6 Million by Optimizing Amazon S3 Storage
The Strategy Behind Transitioning 130 Petabytes to Lower-Cost AWS Storage Classes
TL;DR
Situation
Canva, a global online design platform, stores over 230 petabytes of data on Amazon S3, with its largest bucket holding 45 petabytes. This vast amount of user-generated content incurs significant storage costs.
Task
To reduce expenses, Canva aimed to optimize its data storage strategy by analyzing data access patterns and transitioning appropriate data to more cost-effective S3 storage classes without compromising performance.
Action
The team developed a three-component solution:
Data Analysis: Canva utilized S3 Storage Class Analysis to understand how often and how long data was accessed. They discovered that user-generated content was frequently accessed shortly after creation but seldom retrieved after 15 days.
Strategic Transition: Based on these insights, Canva implemented lifecycle policies to move infrequently accessed data to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, which offers lower storage costs while maintaining quick data access.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Before transitioning, Canva evaluated the costs associated with moving data between storage classes, considering factors like the number and size of objects, to ensure the migration would be financially beneficial.
Result
By migrating approximately 130 petabytes of data to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, Canva achieved savings of +3 Million per year
Use Cases
Cost Optimization, Data Retention Management
Tech Stack/Framework
Amazon S3, Amazon ECS, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3 Glacier
Explained Further
Understanding Storage Classes and Data Patterns
Amazon S3 offers multiple storage classes to suit different data access patterns. Canva initially used S3 Standard for frequently accessed content like templates and stock photos. For user-generated content—designs and uploads—Canva relied on S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA), which balances lower storage costs with fast retrieval times.
AWS’s launch of S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval (S3 Glacier IR) in 2021 introduced a compelling option for data accessed less frequently but still requiring quick retrieval. Canva analyzed whether migrating infrequently accessed data to S3 Glacier IR could save costs without sacrificing performance.
Leveraging S3 Storage Class Analysis
To assess their data’s access patterns, Canva used S3 Storage Class Analysis, which provides detailed insights into how frequently data is retrieved over time. The analysis revealed that user-generated content is heavily accessed within 15 days of creation but rarely retrieved afterward. This insight guided Canva’s decision to transition data older than 15 days to S3 Glacier IR, aligning storage costs with actual usage.
Cost Analysis and Transition Strategy
Migrating data between storage classes incurs costs, charged per request. With over 300 billion objects in storage, transitioning all objects without a plan would have cost Canva over $6 million. To ensure a positive return on investment (ROI), Canva:
Calculated breakeven points based on object sizes.
Prioritized buckets with larger average object sizes (400 KB or more), which promised ROI within six months or less.
Evaluated access patterns to ensure S3 Glacier IR was suitable for the selected buckets.
This targeted approach minimized transition costs while maximizing potential savings.
Efficient Migration and Results
Implementing the migration was straightforward, requiring lifecycle policies to automate data movement. Canva transitioned nearly 80 billion objects—totaling 130 petabytes—to S3 Glacier IR in two days, with a one-time transition cost of $1.6 million. These changes resulted in monthly savings of $300,000, translating to $3.6 million annually.
Lessons Learned
Data Insights Drive Optimization: Understanding access patterns is crucial for aligning storage solutions with actual needs.
Targeted Transition Reduces Costs: Prioritizing buckets with larger object sizes ensured quick ROI.
Lifecycle Policies Enable Scale: Automation simplified the migration of billions of objects.
The Full Scoop
To learn more about the update, check the Canva Engineering Blog post on this topic