From a business decision perspective, object storage helps many different end users and applications access and consume unstructured data in a simple way regardless of the data’s location. By comparison, this is difficult to do with file storage because a file is locked into a specific directory/file name path.īecause of this approach, object storage is the foundation for all cloud storage services and is at the heart of all services that deliver unstructured data (audio services, video on-demand services, photo services etc.). ![]() The object storage software can continue to add resources and continually optimize and balance the entire storage solution. Object storage is ideal for large-scale data sets because object storage software can be installed on economical servers and data can move freely around the system. All object storage solutions are accessible via a RESTful interface over HTTP, which means all you need is access to the object storage system over the internet or an internal network and that key to access the content. ![]() All you need is that key to access the object (unstructured data like a document, photo, video, or audio). Object storage solutions store data as objects on a disk that each get a unique key (also known as key/value storage or content addressable storage). Object Storage Enables Long-Term Distributed Access What is object storage? From a business decision perspective, file storage helps various users transform data into consumable pieces of information such as documents, images, audio, video, graphs, etc. You can have multiple people access and work on the same file, and the file system will manage those versions and updates accordingly based upon what a specific user is authorized to do. The directory structure, file name, and managing of file access and attributes are what enables collaboration across organizations. Network-attached storage (NAS) devices fall in to the file storage category and provide storage over a wide-area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN). The file system controls access to the files and governs file sharing, file locking, and manages all attributes of a file (such as creation, modification, access date, type, and size). File Storage Facilitates Collaborationįile storage is enabled by a global file system, which is a data structure that sits on top of block storage, that stores data in directories, sub-directories and filenames. From a business decision perspective, block storage provides the foundation to support mission- and business-critical applications in a reliable, fast, and efficient manner. When would you use block storage instead of object storage?įrom a block storage perspective, high availability and performance are two very important characteristics. If something changes, you only need to update a few blocks versus the entire piece of data. Software and other data structure like files are made of thousands of blocks and because block storage can update granular segments, this makes it ideal for low latency, high transaction environments. The sub-system knows the address of the blocks (data segments) and can update specific blocks. The data block serves as an abstraction for what is going on above it. What is block storage?įrom an external perspective, this is the rawest form of storage – it’s like a blank slate for system software such as databases and operating systems to run on. With block storage, data is stored in bytes (8 bits) and blocked into segments that each have their own address. The foundation for all external types of storage is block storage. After all, today’s organizations can have file interfaces on object storage and object interface on file storage, so understanding the original function of each storage approach will help you as you evaluate storage technologies and how they map to your specific business requirements.įrom a technical perspective, making better business decisions starts with the underlying storage architecture and the external interface. ![]() This post will provide a high-level explanation of each storage technology: block, file, and object, and the role that each type of storage plays in influencing business decisions. So why is it so hard to figure out what type of storage you need? It follows, then, that the right storage infrastructure that facilitates data delivery in the most streamlined and economical way to the person or process that needs it is also a critical element in enabling better business decisions. Having the right data, at the right time, helps people to make smarter and more informed decisions about their business. These popular statements from storage infrastructure providers are used in an effort to simplify the complex process of storing and providing data access to the necessary parties and processes. Does “unleash your data” or “a new vision for data” sound familiar?
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