Educative | AWS Block Storage vs. Object Storage

November 7th, 2023

##Object Storage Overview

Object storage is a method of organizing and working with units of storage known as objects. Each object consists of three components: the data itself, expandable metadata, and a globally unique identifier for easy retrieval.

Differences Between Block and Object Storage

Object storage differs from block storage, as it doesn’t split files into evenly sized blocks but stores entire data sets within objects. This approach is highly customizable and suited for various storage needs, including high availability and durability requirements.

Benefits of Object Storage

Object storage is well-suited to handle data growth, offering scalability by adding additional nodes. It’s ideal for storing static web content, data backups, and archives. Multiple copies of data ensure resilience in the event of hardware failures.

Trade-Offs and Limitations

While object storage offers many advantages, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Use cases requiring strong consistency and real-time systems may not be suitable for object storage, as it operates on an eventual consistency model. Block storage, with its strong consistency, is more appropriate for structured databases and random read/write loads.

Workloads for Object Versus Block Storage

Object storage excels with unstructured data sets that are primarily read, not written to. It is well-suited for static web content, data backups, and multimedia files. Geographically distributed back-end storage is also a strong use case. On the other hand, block storage is ideal for structured database storage, random read/write loads, and virtual machine file systems.

Object Storage in Practice

Object storage is not an emerging technology and is already used at a massive scale by companies like Amazon. When transitioning to object storage, starting with low I/O workloads currently on NAS devices is recommended. Object storage provides flexibility, scalability, and efficient use of storage resources, making it a valuable solution when applied appropriately. Understanding the architecture’s advantages and limitations is crucial for making informed storage decisions.