What Is Amazon Athena
Tags: amazonanthena, aws, infosectrain, learntorise
Published: 2023-09-12 09:05:29


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## **What is Amazon Athena?**
Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the serverless and interactive query service known as Amazon Athena. Athena, which was created to simplify data analysis, enables users to quickly and easily examine significant amounts of structured and semi-structured data kept on Amazon S3 using conventional SQL queries. Amazon Athena is a useful tool for companies looking for effective and affordable data analysis solutions since it speeds up the process of acquiring meaningful insights from data by removing the requirement for infrastructure installation and data transportation.

## **Key Features of AWS Athena**
Key features of Amazon Athena include:

**➔    Serverless Architecture:** Athena runs without a server and scales resources according to query demand. Users can concentrate on data queries rather than server provisioning or management.

**➔    SQL Querying:** Users acquainted with SQL can use Athena because it supports ANSI SQL queries. Data on S3 can be immediately analyzed using SQL.

**➔    Data Formats:** Athena supports various data formats, including CSV, JSON, Parquet, and others. This adaptability enables you to evaluate various types of data.

**➔    Schema on Read:** Athena uses schema-on-read, meaning that data is interpreted and formatted when queried, allowing for dynamic data exploration without needing upfront schema definitions.

**➔    Federated Queries:** Athena enables integrated searches across S3 data and additional data sources such as Amazon RDS and Amazon Redshift, delivering a full view of users' data. 

## **How does AWS Athena Work?**
Amazon Athena is a serverless query service that lets users analyze data in Amazon S3 using SQL queries:

**➔    Data Cataloging:** Create a data catalog with metadata about the S3 data using AWS Glue or manually.

**➔    SQL Queries:** Using the Query Editor in Athena or an appropriate SQL client to create SQL queries.

**➔    Query Execution:** The Athena engine divides work across controlled resources by parsing, compiling, and optimizing queries.

**➔    Performance Optimizations:** Using columnar storage and data splitting for quicker query processing.

**➔    Serverless Scaling:** Athena automatically scales resources based on query complexities and frequency.

**➔    Results:** Query results are stored in your chosen location for analysis and download.

**➔    Cost Management:** Pay-per-query pricing based on data scanned during execution.

**➔    Integration:** Integrate with Amazon QuickSight for visualization and AWS Lambda for automation.

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