What is the purpose of AWS Snowball?

AWS Snowball is designed specifically for transferring large amounts of data into and out of AWS. It is a secure, rugged device that allows organizations to efficiently move massive datasets, often when internet bandwidth is limited or when dealing with enormous volumes of information. Snowball can handle petabyte-scale data transfers, making it a vital tool for organizations looking to migrate large workloads to the cloud, engage in data archiving, or conduct big data analytics projects.

Its benefits come into play particularly for users who face challenges with network speed and reliability, as transferring data over the internet can be time-consuming and costly. By using Snowball, users can ship their data physically, eliminating the need for internet-based transfers and avoiding the associated costs and delays. The device also incorporates strong security features to ensure that the data remains safe throughout this process.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately reflect the primary function of AWS Snowball, which focuses on large-scale data transfer rather than small file transfers, backup solutions, or network traffic monitoring.