Considerations when choosing a table class in DynamoDB - Amazon DynamoDB

Considerations when choosing a table class in DynamoDB

DynamoDB offers two table classes designed to help you optimize for cost. The DynamoDB Standard table class is the default, and is recommended for the vast majority of workloads. The DynamoDB Standard-Infrequent Access (DynamoDB Standard-IA) table class is optimized for tables where storage is the dominant cost. For example, tables that store infrequently accessed data, such as application logs, old social media posts, e-commerce order history, and past gaming achievements, are good candidates for the Standard-IA table class.

Every DynamoDB table is associated with a table class. All secondary indexes associated with the table use the same table class. You can set your table class when creating your table (DynamoDB Standard by default) and update the table class of an existing table using the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or AWS SDK. DynamoDB also supports managing your table class using AWS CloudFormation for single-region tables (tables that are not global tables). Each table class offers different pricing for data storage as well as read and write requests. When choosing a table class for your table, keep the following in mind:

  • The DynamoDB Standard table class offers lower throughput costs than DynamoDB Standard-IA and is the most cost-effective option for tables where throughput is the dominant cost.

  • The DynamoDB Standard-IA table class offers lower storage costs than DynamoDB Standard, and is the most cost-effective option for tables where storage is the dominant cost. When storage exceeds 50% of the throughput (reads and writes) cost of a table using the DynamoDB Standard table class, the DynamoDB Standard-IA table class can help you reduce your total table cost.

  • DynamoDB Standard-IA tables offer the same performance, durability, and availability as DynamoDB Standard tables.

  • Switching between the DynamoDB Standard and DynamoDB Standard-IA table classes does not require changing your application code. You use the same DynamoDB APIs and service endpoints regardless of the table class your tables use.

  • DynamoDB Standard-IA tables are compatible with all existing DynamoDB features such as auto scaling, on-demand mode, time-to-live (TTL), on-demand backups, point-in-time recovery (PITR), and global secondary indexes.

The most cost-effective table class for your table depends on your table's expected storage and throughput usage patterns. You can look at your table's historical storage and throughput cost and usage with AWS Cost and Usage Reports and the AWS Cost Explorer. Use this historical data to determine the most cost-effective table class for your table. To learn more about using AWS Cost and Usage Reports and the AWS Cost Explorer, see the AWS Billing and Cost Management Documentation. See Amazon DynamoDB Pricing for details about table class pricing.

Note

A table class update is a background process. You can still access your table normally during a table class update. The time to update your table class depends on your table traffic, storage size, and other related variables. No more than two table class updates on your table are allowed in a 30-day trailing period.