What is Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage allows users to store data on remote servers using an internet connection.
What is Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage is a method of storing and organizing data that takes place in the cloud — a network of remote servers accessible via an internet connection.
With cloud storage,
users and businesses can store, access, and maintain their data from anywhere with an internet connection,
rather than confining their files to a single location or device.
Before cloud computing became widespread,
users kept their data on a personal hard drive or a local data center,
which limited their use of that data to one location.
Think of it like choosing to invest in a landline instead of a mobile phone. As long as the user is at home, they can answer a call whenever it rings, but once they leave their property,
accessing it becomes impossible. With a mobile phone, however, they can answer a call from anywhere.
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Cloud storage works the same way. Users no longer need to stay at home (or inside their office building) to access their data around the clock; instead, they can take their files on the go without needing expensive and limited devices.
How does cloud storage work?
Cloud storage vendors allow users to rent storage space on remote data server networks.
Users pay cloud vendors for the ability to run applications,
host services, and back up data to the cloud, and they typically adhere to usage limits that can be expanded for an additional fee,
enabling them to scale their storage needs as necessary.
Is cloud storage secure?
Cloud storage vendors need to ensure that files are not breached, lost, or corrupted in the cloud.
Since there is no way to fully protect against hardware failure, cloud vendors use redundant storage methods,
redundant primary hardware, data paths, and power sources to keep their cloud storage services running at all times.
For example, suppose a user wants to back up their entire photo library from their smartphone to the cloud.
Multiple copies of their photos will be sent to multiple data servers,
so that if their phone suffers irreparable damage or one of the servers burns out,
they will still be able to retrieve those files from another server.
What are the benefits of cloud storage?
- Data accessibility: Users can access their files from multiple locations and devices and easily share their files with other users as needed.
- Scalability: Upgrading existing on-premises infrastructure may require expensive hardware and additional IT support, costing businesses valuable time, money, and effort. Cloud storage enables businesses to scale their storage needs without the additional expense and expertise required to do so in-house.
- Disaster recovery: When data is stored in a single physical location, it is vulnerable to natural disasters, human error, and hardware failure.
- Online cloud storage does not face the same issues, as cloud vendors prevent the loss of critical data by using redundant storage systems (data is copied across servers sharing a single geographic location) and geo-replication (data is copied across multiple servers and geographic locations).
What are the disadvantages of cloud storage?
- Security threats: Online cloud storage provides secure and efficient data management, but this does not mean that cloud vendors are immune to privacy issues, hacking, and security breaches.
- Entrusting sensitive data to third-party vendors can raise a number of concerns about data confidentiality, internet file transfers, and managing access to internal and external files.
- Some of these issues can be avoided through a privately hosted cloud service, although private cloud options are often more expensive than public and hybrid cloud services.
- Limited data management: Users who choose a public or hybrid cloud storage service give up partial or complete control over their data organization to an external vendor. Legacy on-premises infrastructure may not be fully compatible with certain cloud storage systems, and a complete migration to the cloud is often a complex process.
- This is another area where in-house private cloud storage or hosted private cloud storage may make more sense for those looking to retain full control over how their data is stored.
- Vendor lock-in: Just as migrating from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud service can be difficult, migrating from one cloud vendor to another can also be challenging. The longer a company uses a particular cloud vendor, the more likely they are to face the risk of vendor lock-in due to contractual terms, incompatibilities between vendor systems, and a lack of data migration tools and services.
How is cloud storage managed?
Cloud storage has several deployment models, including personal storage, private storage, public storage, and hybrid storage.
Personal storage allows individual users to store and access data in the cloud from many internet-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. This is the primary way consumers back up their files to the cloud.
Using cloud computing services such as Google Cloud,
users can synchronize their data across multiple devices and restore it wherever they have a secure internet connection.
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Public storage refers to a cloud storage vendor that manages data for multiple users in the public cloud. Each user rents storage space in the cloud while offloading the burden and expense of maintaining the underlying infrastructure to the cloud provider. Although users share cloud storage (a practice called “multi-tenancy”),
they cannot access each other's data,
in the same way that different residents of an apartment building may share the building without being allowed into each other's units.
Private storage is a cloud storage service arranged exclusively for a single company. A standard private storage solution can be managed in a local data center (on-premises private cloud) or remotely by an external vendor (hosted private cloud).
Since it can only be accessed by one company,
private storage provides a higher level of security than public storage.
However, companies that choose to deploy on-premises private clouds may find this a less reliable option,
as they can suffer significant data loss if their on-premises facilities are compromised.
Hybrid storage refers to a combination of public and private storage.
Companies that cannot afford the high cost of private storage options
may choose to host some of their data in a private cloud while taking advantage of the scalability and affordability of the public cloud.
How are files stored in the cloud?
Cloud services accommodate three primary types of data storage: file storage, block storage, and object storage.
File storage is a hierarchical data organization system that nests data folders within directories and subdirectories. Within each folder, files are tagged with metadata* to facilitate identification and retrieval, although this process becomes more complex when applied to large amounts of data. Although file storage is one of the more expensive cloud storage solutions, it does not scale easily.
When comparing the pros and cons of different storage systems, it may be helpful to think of each system as a way of organizing clothing. File storage is like placing clothes in separate dresser drawers. One drawer might be dedicated to tops, with smaller sections divided inside the drawer for shirts, blouses, and tank tops. It is a straightforward system that is easy to track, but it can become impractical if used to organize hundreds of individual clothing items.
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Block storage organizes data into storage units called “blocks”. Each block consists of files arranged in equal-sized chunks of data and tagged with a unique identifier. The controlling operating system treats each of these volumes as a separate hard drive and allows them to be stored in whatever environment is most suitable. While block storage makes data organization and retrieval easier than file storage, especially for businesses with large amounts of data, it faces metadata limitations and is often a less cost-effective option.
Block storage is like trading a wardrobe for plastic bins. Each bin holds the same amount of clothing and can be labeled by the type of clothing it contains — shirts, socks, trousers, etc. Rather than trying to find space for a large wardrobe (or building a separate room with many wardrobes), the bins can be placed anywhere convenient for easy access and retrieval.
Object storage refers to the creation of distinct units called “objects,” each containing unstructured data, metadata, and a unique identifier. Because objects are stored in a flat address space (rather than a file directory) and allow for more complex metadata customization, object storage makes data retrieval easier than both file and block storage. It also combines some of the advantages of file and block storage, as it is cost-effective (users pay only for the storage space they need) and scalable (users can use object storage systems to manage enormous amounts of data).
Object storage is like creating custom, compressed containers for each type of clothing and labeling each container with a marker. One container might be for blue shirts, another for pink cycling shorts, and a third for animal-print socks. Although the containers cannot be modified, they can be stored and identified more easily than bins or wardrobes.
The simplest type of object storage is called Binary Large Object (blob) storage. Blob storage allows for the storage of unstructured collections of data of arbitrary size.
* Metadata helps organize files by assigning descriptors to pieces of data, such as titles, tags, categories, previous modifications, and permissions. The more detailed the metadata, the easier it is to find and retrieve a file within a data storage system.
