Final answer:
The Tape Gateway mode is designed to replace physical tape drives with cloud-based S3 storage and emulates a virtual tape library for backup and archiving.
Step-by-step explanation:
The storage gateway mode that can replace a tape drive with S3 storage is the Tape Gateway. AWS Storage Gateway provides various types of gateways, each catering to different use cases:
- Volume Gateway is used for block-based storage.
- Tape Gateway is used for backup and archiving to AWS, emulating a virtual tape library (VTL).
- File Gateway is used for storing files as objects in S3, using standard file protocols like NFS and SMB.
- Edge Gateway is used for processing and caching data locally before moving it to AWS.
For organizations that are looking to move on from physical tape backup solutions, Tape Gateway offers a seamless way to create a scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud-based virtual tape library on S3.