Object Storage: General information

Valid for migrated Cloud Servers.

This article explains how Object Storage works as a highly available, secure, and scalable storage solution, and what advantages and use cases it offers.

Object Storage is a highly available, secure, and scalable storage solution. This storage solution utilizes the globally widespread S3 standard and enables the storage of large volumes of unstructured data, as well as seamless integration into S3-compatible applications and infrastructures.

In contrast to conventional hierarchical systems such as block storage, volumes, or hard disk file systems, Object Storage uses a flat structure without deeply nested folder hierarchies. This is ideal for storing large volumes of unstructured, static data. Alternatively, you can also use object storage for storing backups, media archives, or for hosting static website content, for example.

Functionality

To use Object Storage, you must generate an access key. This access key is a unique identifier that you can use to access buckets and objects. The key pair consists of an access key and a secret key.

You can find instructions on how to generate the access key in the following article: Object Storage: Generating keys

Before you can upload data, you must create a bucket and give it a unique name. When you create a bucket, select the bucket region and a unique bucket name.

Buckets are containers for files that are stored in Object Storage. The files are uploaded to this bucket. In addition, you can group the files in a folder to organize and manage them within a bucket.

You can find instructions on how to create a bucket in the following article: Object Storage: Creating a bucket

In Object Storage, the data to be stored is referred to as objects. The data type can be archives, backups, log files, documents, images, and media resources. An object consists of a key that represents the name of the object. This key acts as a unique identifier that you can use to retrieve the object. Each object is assigned a unique URL for direct access. Each object may be a maximum of 5 TB in size. One TB corresponds to 1024 GB.

To establish a connection, your application or client also needs the correct endpoint URL of the storage system. You can find this endpoint in the Cloud Panel in the object storage area of the bucket settings.

You can find instructions on how to display the bucket settings in the following article: Object Storage: Viewing bucket settings

Object Lock

You can use the Object Lock to define retention periods during which changes to objects are suspended (WORM principle: Write Once, Read Many). It is ideal for protecting your data from unintentional deletion, and for complying with statutory regulations and legal requirements.

The Object Lock can only be activated during the creation of a bucket and requires version management to be activated. The following modes can be applied to objects until the specified retention date expires:

The No default retention setting bypasses the retention settings. This enables smooth integration of backup software such as Veeam.
Governance mode allows the bucket owner to override the lock settings.
Compliance mode enforces a strict lock without the possibility of overriding. It is suitable for legal and regulatory requirements.

You can find instructions on how to display and edit the Object Lock in the following article: Object Storage: Viewing and editing Object Lock settings

Advantages of Object Storage

Large amounts of data

Data in Object Storage is stored as objects that contain metadata and a unique identifier, making it easy to retrieve objects for large amounts of unstructured data.

High scalability

With Object Storage, you can start with a small data store and expand it at any time to meet the needs of your application, giving you maximum flexibility in data storage.

Object lock

The object lock defines retention periods during which changes to objects are suspended. It is ideal for securing your data before deletion to ensure compliance with statutory regulations and legal requirements.

Data protection

In addition to object locking, Object Storage offers advanced data encryption algorithms. These algorithms ensure secure storage.

Lifecycle management

With Object Storage's lifecycle rules, you can enforce the deletion process for historical data, and save on storage costs.

Restrictions

The following restrictions must be observed when using Object Storage:

Access key: You can set up to five access keys.

Storage size: The minimum storage size is 1 byte and can be extended.

Naming conventions for buckets: Only buckets for hosting static websites may use dots (.) in the bucket names.

Number of buckets: You can create up to 500 buckets. For more information, see bucket types.

Bucket policy size: The maximum allowed bucket policy size for a bucket is 1 MB.

Object size: The maximum permitted object size is 5 TB.

Object name length: The maximum permitted length of the folder path including the file name is 1024 characters.

Note

A bucket with versioning previously switched on may not qualify for the higher quota. This may be the case if versioning is not currently activated.

File upload size: Objects must not exceed a size of 5 GB when uploading via the web interface. If you have a single file that exceeds this limit, you can work around it with multi-part uploads. CLI tools such as AWS CLI and graphical tools such as Cyberduck automatically process larger files by splitting them into parts during the upload.

Use cases

Based on the functions and advantages of Object Storage, the following use cases can be derived:

Data backup and recovery

Object Storage backs up important databases and data in a simple way. Data security and access are improved thanks to replication and failover functions, as well as the versioning of buckets.

Storage of website assets

You can store specific website assets such as images or downloadable files in Object Storage, even if you are not hosting the entire website, helping to save costs and optimize server space.

Hosting static websites

With Object Storage, you can host static content such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images, eliminating the need for an external web server. You have the option of defining an index page and an error page and linking a customized domain to your bucket.

Hosting multimedia assets

Object Storage is ideal for storing static multimedia files such as images, videos, and audio files. Rarely changing documents are also suitable. With a dedicated URL for each object, you can easily embed these assets in a static website.

Private file storage

With Object Storage, you can store your private data securely with the default settings so that objects are not accessible via regular HTTP(S).

Storing unstructured data

A flat data structure is ideal for storing and managing large data sets outside of traditional databases.

Artifact storage

Storing and sharing development artifacts such as log data via the Object Storage URL is an ideal solution for developers.

Software hosting and distribution

Developers can upload software applications as objects to the buckets and easily grant access to their software via unique URLs, making this an ideal solution for software hosting and distribution.

Regular data retention

For regular logs that only need to be accessed for a certain period of time and need to be removed after a certain duration, the lifecycle rules allow data to be retained and data objects to be deleted on the specified expiry date. This makes this solution ideal for regular data storage.

Additional information

Information on getting started with Object Storage can be found in the following articles: Object Storage: First steps