How does FSx for Lustre pricing differ between scratch and persistent?

Scratch file systems are lower cost because data is not replicated — if a server fails, data must be reloaded from S3 or regenerated. Persistent file systems replicate data within the same AZ and cost more per GB-month. Scratch is ideal for temporary processing (ML training, HPC simulations) where data can be reloaded. Persistent is required for workloads that cannot tolerate data loss. Both types include baseline throughput with the storage, and you can provision additional throughput capacity for extra cost.

What drives cost in FSx for NetApp ONTAP?

ONTAP costs have three main components: SSD storage (high-performance tier), capacity pool storage (lower-cost tier for infrequently accessed data), and throughput capacity. Data automatically tiers between SSD and capacity pool based on access patterns, which can significantly reduce costs. You also pay for backups and any inter-AZ data transfer in Multi-AZ deployments. Data deduplication and compression (included at no extra cost) can reduce the effective storage consumed by 30-65% depending on your data.

FSx Cost Estimator

StorageAWS

Estimate AWS FSx costs for Lustre, Windows File Server, and NetApp ONTAP.

AWS FSx Configuration

File System Type

Storage Capacity (GB)

Throughput Capacity (MBps)

Lustre throughput is included in the storage price.

Raw Output

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About This Tool

Amazon FSx provides fully managed file systems optimized for different workloads — FSx for Lustre delivers high-performance parallel storage for HPC and ML, FSx for Windows File Server offers native SMB protocol support with Active Directory integration, FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides multi-protocol NAS with data management features, and FSx for OpenZFS offers high-performance ZFS-based storage. Costs vary significantly by file system type, storage capacity, throughput, IOPS provisioning, and backup retention. This estimator helps you calculate monthly costs across all FSx variants with region-specific pricing.

When to Use This Tool

•Comparing FSx for Lustre scratch vs persistent deployment costs for ML training pipelines
•Estimating FSx for Windows File Server costs with Single-AZ vs Multi-AZ deployment and storage capacity planning
•Calculating FSx for NetApp ONTAP costs with SSD and capacity pool storage tiers plus data compression savings

Frequently Asked Questions

How does FSx for Lustre pricing differ between scratch and persistent?: Scratch file systems are lower cost because data is not replicated — if a server fails, data must be reloaded from S3 or regenerated. Persistent file systems replicate data within the same AZ and cost more per GB-month. Scratch is ideal for temporary processing (ML training, HPC simulations) where data can be reloaded. Persistent is required for workloads that cannot tolerate data loss. Both types include baseline throughput with the storage, and you can provision additional throughput capacity for extra cost.
What drives cost in FSx for NetApp ONTAP?: ONTAP costs have three main components: SSD storage (high-performance tier), capacity pool storage (lower-cost tier for infrequently accessed data), and throughput capacity. Data automatically tiers between SSD and capacity pool based on access patterns, which can significantly reduce costs. You also pay for backups and any inter-AZ data transfer in Multi-AZ deployments. Data deduplication and compression (included at no extra cost) can reduce the effective storage consumed by 30-65% depending on your data.

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