Inside Object Storage: Benefits, Use Cases, and Opportunities. When, Where, and Why to Leverage an Object Storage Architecture.
Object storage is a data storage architecture in which data is stored and managed as self-contained units called objects. Each object contains a key, data, and optional metadata. Flat, API-friendly, and highly scalable, object storage is the format of choice for public cloud storage services like Amazon S3 and on-premises solutions like Pure Storage® FlashBlade®.
Developed in the mid-1990s, object storage was created largely to address the issue of scalability. Traditional file and block storage, which were developed much earlier, aren’t equipped to handle the massive volumes of data—which is often unstructured and not easily organized—being generated today. Because file and block storage use hierarchies, data access slows as data stores grow from gigabytes and terabytes to petabytes and beyond.
Object storage scales quickly and easily as needed, even in the face of enormous petabyte and exabyte loads. Regardless of how many objects are stored, they’re all placed in a single namespace—which could be spread across a variety of hardware and geographical locations—and the system can continue to access any object in that growing pool without affecting performance at all.
Metadata plays a significant role in object storage. Each object is stored with its metadata and can be quite detailed. It can include information such as specific privacy and security policies, access rules, and even specifications, for example, about where a video clip was shot or who created the data.
When a user wants to access data, the object storage system uses the identifier ID and metadata. Because objects are stored in a single pool without a hierarchy of folders or directories, that ID and metadata make it fast and easy to pinpoint the data you need.
Object storage relies on REST APIs, which use HTTP commands to locate data by querying each object’s metadata.
In the world of data storage, there are three main approaches to storing your data: file, block, and object. Let’s take a look at the main differences between them:
Object Storage is a storage format in which data is stored in discrete units called objects. Each unit has a unique identifier or key, which allows them to be found no matter where they’re stored on a distributed system.
Objects function as modular units, each acting as self-contained repositories complete with metadata that describes details like permissions, privacies, securities, contingencies, and other information. It’s similar to a photograph, for example, which might contain metadata describing the camera settings used to take a picture along with the time and place it was taken.
Object storage supports HTTP and REST, the application programming interface (API) architecture used by most websites and software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps.
Block Storage breaks data up into separate pieces of fixed-sized blocks of data that each get a unique identifier. Block storage allows the underlying storage system to retrieve it no matter where it gets stored. Block storage decouples data from its storage environment, allowing the storage area network (SAN) to store data where it's most convenient regardless of the underlying operating system. That means even if your storage system is a hybrid of cloud service providers, Linux servers, and Windows servers, your SAN will be able to quickly reassemble and retrieve your data when you need it.
File Storage is the storage format most people are familiar with—data is stored in files you can interact with in folders within a hierarchical file directory. It’s the storage format used by direct attached storage (DAS) and network attached storage (NAS) systems. Every time you access files on a hard drive, your local computer, or a shared drive hosted on a company server, you’re dealing with file storage. The file path to a specific piece of data can be long and inefficient, but the trade-off is greater convenience for the user.
for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage
The primary benefits of object-based storage include:
No storage architecture, including object storage, is ideal for every type of storage need. Some potential downsides of object storage include:
It should be noted that modern data storage solutions have started to tackle many of the bottlenecks traditionally associated with object storage. Combining all-flash storage with modern storage architectures that include native object protocol support has helped make fast object storage a reality.
Experience a self-service instance of Pure1® to manage Pure FlashBlade™, the industry's most advanced solution delivering native scale-out file and object storage.
Traditionally, object storage had been relegated to situations where you want to maximise cost per GB:
Archival data storage: Object storage works well with static assets that might be archived, such as video and audio footage and database logs.
But here are some scenarios in which object storage really shines:
Pure Storage is a pioneer in developing enterprise-grade, all-flash storage systems with native performance. FlashBlade is the industry's most advanced solution delivering native scale-out file and object storage. By combining the infinite scalability of object storage with the massive throughput and parallelism of NVMe storage, FlashBlade overcomes the traditional performance bottlenecks associated with file and object storage. Accelerate your core applications today with FlashBlade, the first unified fast file and object (UFFO) storage platform.
Join us at Pure//Accelerate® in Las Vegas, June 14-16, and double down on your data success.
Let’s talk. Book a 1:1 meeting with one of our experts to discuss your specific needs.
Have a question or comment about Pure products or certifications? We’re here to help.
Schedule a live demo and see for yourself how Pure can help transform your data into powerful outcomes.
Call Sales: 800-976-6494
Media: pr@purestorage.com
Pure Storage, Inc.
2555 Augustine Dr.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
800-379-7873 (general info)