What is S3 Select used for?

S3 Select is designed to retrieve specific data from S3 objects using SQL queries, allowing users to access a subset of data from within stored objects rather than pulling an entire object down to see just the needed information. This capability enhances performance and reduces costs, particularly when working with large datasets, as it minimizes the amount of data transferred over the network. By using SQL-like syntax, users can easily filter and aggregate data directly in S3, streamlining data processing workflows and supporting various analytical needs.

The other options do not align with the functionality of S3 Select. Access permissions for S3 buckets pertain to security and management tasks, while performing bulk operations typically involves transferring or deleting multiple objects. Finally, automatically archiving older data to Glacier is related to data storage lifecycle management rather than the direct data retrieval capabilities offered by S3 Select.