Module 5: Block, File & Object Based Storage Systems (Object Based Storage System) Flashcards
What are the limitations of NAS?
cannot scale to extremely high capacity
data growth adds high overhead to NAS systems in terms of permissions and nested directories
file system requires more management the bigger they get
performance degrades as system grows - metadata capacity also limited as new apps introduced to environment
What is an object in object based storage?
the fundamental unit of object based storage
support API integration + software defined infrastructure
What is contained in an object?
user data - metadata - retention - access pattern
What is object metadata used for?
optimize search
retention policies
automated deletion of objects
How is an object identified?
unique Object ID - allows access without specifying storage location
How is an object ID created?
applies specialized algorithms to the data
fingerprinting process that guarantees unique identification
What happens if you change any part of the object data?
new Object ID made
What is an object storage database?
used to track where objects and metadata are stored
uses Object IDs to access storage location records for retrieval
How does an object storage device (OSD) store data?
uses flat address space so objects exist at the same level
objects can’t be placed inside of objects
What does the flat address space storage system of an OSD allow?
no hierarchy of files or directories
billions of objects can be stored in single namespace
How does a hierarchical file system store data?
organizes data in form of files/directories
limits number of files that can be stored
What is an OSD controller?
server that runs the OSD OS and provides services to manage environment
What are the three parts of an OSD system?
controllers
internal network
storage
What are the two key functions of an OSD controller?
metadata services
storage services
What are the metadata services for an OSD controller?
responsible for generation object IDs
maintains mapping of object IDs and file system namespace
sometimes metadata services runs inside application server
What are the storage services for an OSD controller?
manages set of disk where data is stored
controller connects to storage via internal network
What does the internal network in an OSD controller do?
provides inter-controller and controller to storage connection
What does the application server do in an OSD environment?
accesses the controller to store or retrieve data over an external network
What type of storage media is usually used to store object data?
low cost high density disk
What are the key features of an OSD storage system?
scale out architecture
multitenancy
metadata driven policy
global namespace
flexible data access method
automated system management
data protection (Geo distribution)
What are the benefits of the multi-tenancy capabilities of OSD?
allows multiple apps/clients to be served from same infrastructure
each app securely partitioned
data neither comingled or accessible by other tenants
What are the benefits of the global namespace capabilities of OSD?
abstracts storage from apps and provides common view independent of location
unburdens client apps from need to keep track of where data is stored
What are the flexible data access methods of OSD?
supports REST/SOAP APIs for mobile access and file protocols like CIFS/NFS
What is the automated system management of an OSD?
provides self-healing and auto-configuring capabilities
redundant components means no single point of failure
How is data protection implemented in an OSD?
replication and erasure coding
What is an OSD gateway?
presents file and block based storage interfaces to apps
performs protocol conversion to send data directly to cloud storage
What are the benefits of an OSD gateway?
encrypts data before transferring it to cloud
supports dedupe and compression
maintains local cache to reduce latency
provides data management layer to know which data to send to cloud
can be physical or virtual appliance that operates as software
