Understanding Amazon S3

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a scalable object storage service provided by AWS. It is designed to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. S3 is commonly used for backup and archiving, content distribution, and data lakes.

Recognizing the Symptom

When uploading an object to an S3 bucket, you might encounter the EntityTooLarge error. This error indicates that the object you are attempting to upload exceeds the maximum allowed size.

What You Observe

During the upload process, the operation fails, and you receive an error message similar to:

EntityTooLarge: Your proposed upload exceeds the maximum allowed size

Details About the Issue

The EntityTooLarge error occurs when the size of the object being uploaded exceeds the maximum limit set by Amazon S3. As of now, S3 supports a maximum object size of 5 TB.

Why This Happens

This error is typically encountered when attempting to upload large files without splitting them into smaller parts. S3 has a hard limit on the size of individual objects, and exceeding this limit triggers the error.

Steps to Fix the Issue

To resolve the EntityTooLarge error, you need to ensure that the object size does not exceed 5 TB. If your file is larger, consider using the Multipart Upload feature.

Using Multipart Upload

Multipart Upload allows you to upload a single object as a set of parts. Each part is uploaded independently, and once all parts are uploaded, they are combined into a single object. Here’s how you can use Multipart Upload:

1. Initiate a Multipart Upload using the AWS CLI or SDK:

1. Upload each part using the upload-part command:

1. Complete the Multipart Upload:

For more details, refer to the AWS Multipart Upload documentation.

Additional Considerations

Ensure that your network connection is stable during the upload process to avoid interruptions. Additionally, consider compressing the file before uploading to reduce its size.

Conclusion

By understanding the limitations of Amazon S3 and utilizing features like Multipart Upload, you can effectively manage large file uploads and avoid the EntityTooLarge error. For further reading, visit the Amazon S3 product page.