Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
1. What is S3?Simple Storage Service (S3) is a non-hierarchical data storage service. It is essentially a file hosting service that allows you to store any amount of data and retrieve it at any time over the Internet. S3 is a whole ecosystem in the cloud computing environment:
- Security;
- 99.999999999 % storage reliability;
- Low cost of storage.
2. What is object storage good for?
Object storage is suitable for all types of data. This can be either archives and databases that are accessed rarely, or data from high-traffic services that need to be accessed regularly. Backups can be uploaded to Object Storage. The solution allows you to quickly recover data in the event of a failure. There are many other ways to use S3 storage: hosting websites, collaborating on documents, storing datasets for machine learning, etc.
3. What kind of data is object storage best for?
Any kind of data. All data can be divided into two big blocks: hot and cold. "Hot data is content that is used very often, such as photos, videos, audio files, downloads, business documents and so on. "Cold" data, on the other hand, is rarely used files that need to be stored - backups, video surveillance recordings, archives.
Note: If your data needs to change regularly, it's better to consider alternative cloud storage options.
4. Is there a limit to the amount of data I can store?
No. You can store an unlimited amount of data.
5. What can I do with objects?
You can upload, copy, move, download and delete objects in the repository. Data can be organised into folders.
6. What are the benefits of object storage?
- Store unstructured data in its original format.
- Reduce the load on your current capacity. Reduces use of productive storage by offloading content from storage rather than web servers.
- Automatically scale the service as data volumes and/or accesses grow.
- Optimise storage costs. Pay only for the resources you use (pay-as-you-go).
7. What is the difference between object storage and Google Drive, Dropbox and others?
Google Drive, Dropbox and similar services are suitable if you need to store small amounts of data that is not too sensitive. S3 object storage, on the other hand, can be used to store the data of large organizations and offers access control and a high level of information protection. It is also easily scalable to meet your business needs.8. Is my data protected?
All data is stored in secure data centers equipped with surveillance cameras, access control systems, security, etc.9. Can I connect an Object Storage container as a network drive?
Yes, you can connect the container as a network drive using the FTP protocol or any other method.
10. Is Object Storage suitable for working with Big Data?
Absolutely! Object storage allows you to store unlimited amounts of data and share it with applications.
11.Does object storage work with all applications?
No. The application must support the S3 REST API.
12. How is data backed up in Object Storage?
Copies of the data are hosted on geo-remote servers. If one of the servers fails, the data is not lost, but remains available due to the redundancy.
13. What is the advantage of non-hierarchical storage?
Building a hierarchy significantly increases the path to the data (object) and therefore the response time of the application. In object storage, data lies flat and can be sent almost instantaneously to an application or to the Internet via http/https.
14. How to migrate from other vendors' storage to Cloud4Y Cloud Object Storage?
You can migrate with Rclone or similar software.
15. What is metadata?
Metadata is information about hosted objects. This includes the name, file type, file size and creation date. Metadata is necessary for storage management. It makes it easier to search, sort and set access policies.
16. What kind of information can be written into an object's metadata?
Absolutely any kind of information, from the various characteristics of an object to the rights to the object for each specific user.
You can find answers to your questions in our Knowledge Base. If you can't find an answer to your question, ask our consultants using the online chat or send a request using the support ticket system.
