Chapter 1: Understanding Cloud Infrastructure

According to recent data, 67% of enterprise infrastructure is currently cloud-based, and this figure is anticipated to rise significantly in the coming years. Among the various cloud providers, AWS commands the largest market share, which is also my preferred platform. The familiarity I have with AWS stems from my early experiences with it, coupled with its user-friendly interface.

Different companies select various infrastructure providers based on their specific needs. With multiple cloud service providers available, transferring data between them—whether as a one-time task or a recurring event—often becomes necessary.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offers a variety of methods for transferring data from on-premises storage to the cloud, as well as from other cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure to Google Cloud Storage.

In this guide, we will explore how to transfer data from AWS S3 to a GCP storage bucket.

Section 1.1: Setting Up AWS for Data Transfer

To start, create an IAM User on the AWS side. It’s advisable to reserve the root user for administrative tasks and use IAM users with the appropriate permissions for accessing AWS services.

Next, establish a bucket in S3 and upload a few sample files.

Once you've set up your GCP free account, head over to the Data Transfer service, also known as the Storage Transfer Service.

From the landing page, you'll find an option to initiate a new transfer. Select Amazon S3 as your source type.

Section 1.2: Configuring the Transfer Process

In the following steps, you will be prompted to enter either an SSH key or the ARN path for authentication. Input the names of the source and destination buckets.

Finally, you can schedule the data transfer—options include “just once” or daily, among other choices. Once the scheduled job is executed, you can confirm the data's presence in the GCP storage bucket.

This video demonstrates how to transfer files from AWS S3 to GCP Cloud Storage using the Data Transfer Service.

After the job runs, you can verify that the data uploaded to the AWS S3 bucket has successfully transferred to the GCP storage bucket.

You can also check the details of the scheduled job from the GCP console, including the next scheduled time, any errors, and skipped data.

Chapter 2: Ensuring Data Security During Transfers

GCP prioritizes data security by encrypting data in transit over HTTPS using TLS. It also features capabilities that allow only the transfer of data that has been added, updated, or deleted since the last data transfer.

For added security, you can configure folder access settings with VPC Service Controls.

This video outlines the process of migrating AWS S3 data to Google Cloud Storage using the Data Transfer Service.