Details - Object Storage

Object storage has become the foundation for web-scale architectures in public or private clouds. Its appeal is due to its potential to handle massive scale while minimizing complexity and cost. It allows application developers and users to focus more on their workflow and logic and not worry about managing file storage and file locations. Customers struggling with large-scale data storage deployments are turning to object storage to overcome the limitations that legacy storage systems face at scale.

Object storage is an architecture that manages data as distinct units, known as objects. Each object contains the actual data, metadata, and a unique identifier. The metadata stored alongside the data can include information such as creation date, size, and custom attributes. This technique manages and manipulates data storage using objects in a central location, not structured as files within folders. This approach to data storage offers substantial benefits in terms of scalability, cost-efficiency, and ease of use. It is a primary form of storage used in cloud computing infrastructure.

Critical characteristics of object storage include:

  • Flat Address space: Object storage uses a flat address space, meaning that there’s no hierarchical structure like you’d find with traditional file systems. This lack of hierarchy allows for massive scalability, as there’s no need to manage complex file paths or directory structures. Objects can be stored and retrieved using their unique identifier, making it easy to find and access data regardless of size or location.
  • Data Durability and redundancy: Object storage solutions often employ erasure coding and data replication techniques to ensure data durability and redundancy. Erasure coding breaks data into smaller pieces and adds redundancy. In contrast, data replication creates copies of the data across multiple storage nodes. Both techniques help to protect against data loss, ensuring that your information remains secure and available even in the event of hardware failures.
  • RESTful APIs: Object storage systems typically use RESTful APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for communication between clients and the storage system. These APIs allow developers to easily integrate object storage into their applications, streamlining data storage and retrieval processes.
  • S3-compatible: Amazon’s Simple Storage Service definition is the de facto standard for object storage. S3-compatible object storage refers to any storage service that supports the same application programming interface (API) as Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3).

The term “S3 compatible” means that the storage service can interact with the S3 API, accepting the same commands and returning the expected responses as Amazon S3. This compatibility enables developers and applications designed to work with S3 to also work with other S3-compatible storage services without changing the code.

Key features of S3-compatible object storage typically include:

  • RESTful interface: S3 compatibility is primarily about adhering to the RESTful interface provided by Amazon S3, which uses standard HTTP/HTTPS methods like GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE.

  • Bucket and Object Model: The data storage model is organized into buckets (containers for storage) and objects (the individual pieces of data). This model is a fundamental aspect of S3.

  • Scalability: Like S3, compatible storage services can typically scale to store large amounts of data without degrading performance.

  • Durability and Availability: These services are usually designed to be highly durable, ensuring data is not lost and highly available, meaning data can be accessed when needed.

  • Security: S3 compatible services often offer similar security features, such as encryption in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest, access controls, and possibly integration with identity services.

  • Data Lifecycle Management: They may provide features for managing data’s lifecycle, including automatic deletion or transitioning to lower-cost storage tiers based on age or other criteria.

Adopting S3-compatible object storage is common for businesses that wish to avoid vendor lock-in or prefer to use an alternative to Amazon S3 for reasons such as cost, performance, data sovereignty, or a preference for on-premises storage. Various storage solution providers, including cloud services and on-premises storage vendors, offer S3-compatible object storage solutions.

Most backup software directly supports S3-compatible storage, and many programming languages have library functions that allow easy interaction with this storage type from the program code level.