We’re excited to announce that Leaseweb Object Storage has officially arrived in the Netherlands!
It’s the perfect combination of cost-effective, scalable and secure storage that can handle vast amounts of data. If you’re looking for durable, highly available storage but don’t necessarily need to pay for especially high performance, then this is the perfect solution for you.
In this blog post, we explain the unique features of Leaseweb Object Storage, but first, everything you need to know about object storage in general.
What is Object Storage?
Object storage, aka object-based storage, is a platform that allows you to store your data in the form of objects by using standard HTTPS connections. By using object storage, you can upload, retrieve, set and query metadata information about the stored data. It is used for things like storing images on social media, or files in online sharing services.
Object Storage Use Cases
There are several situations where object storage is the ideal solution to go with, including:
Developing an App
Any company wanting to develop an application is going to need persistent storage where information and files can be kept. It could also be that the company already has an up-and-running application and wants to use another provider compatible with the existing S3 storage they are using.
Back-up Infrastructure
If a company wants to back up their infrastructure and have copies of their data stored in a durable way, yet not on their own premises, Object Storage can cater to those needs.
Legal Obligations
In the case of legal regulations, like those in the EU, where companies are required to store certain data for years even though the data might not be used at all during that time, a sturdy yet affordable storage system is needed. Keeping this data together with active files in a more expensive storage system is not necessary, but high durability and security are. That’s where object storage comes in.
How does Object Storage work?
Once you start up your object storage, you first need to create your bucket (a container where the objects are stored) and a user key (a string that authenticates you in the system).
With these, you can then access the object storage end point with the proper API calls to upload your objects (files) into your bucket. The object storage platform takes care of the data durability and availability of the data by replicating it into different systems or locations (depending on the product).
Object Storage vs File Storage: What’s the difference?
File storage relies on protocols, normally SMB or NFS, that were not designed to be both performant and secure through the Internet, as they are designed to be used on private networks where trusted servers and users are connected.
Object storage, on the other hand, adds a security layer onto the API access and keeps transactional control over the data written, including built-in version control and metadata management.
Object Storage vs Block Storage: What’s the difference?
In block storage, the file system resides on the server side. That means that only one server can be the owner of the file system at a given time. It also means that the connection with the source of the blocks (normally local disks or a SAN storage) must be extremely reliable and stable to prevent data loss, considering that part of the data is cached on the server together with the filesystem.
However, object storage presents a standard interface via HTTPS and keeps control of the stored objects. This means data changes (files added/removed/updated) are transactions that can be done without risk to the consistency of the stored data, even through the Internet.
What are the benefits of Leaseweb Object Storage?
Leaseweb Object Storage allows you to develop your applications that make use of the S3 standard to store, query and retrieve your data in the shape of objects. It is portable from or to any other S3 compatible object storage platform, and provides more security compared to other forms of storage. We have two versions of Leaseweb Object Storage: Standard and Standard One Zone Infrequent. Some notable features of our object storage are:
Lower price
The cost per GB is significantly lower than traditional storage, and our prices are extremely competitive in the market.
Transactional
As opposed to traditional storage, Leaseweb Object Storage relays on transactions, so that no filesystem or block is involved from the customer’s perspective. This means that unstable connections do not affect the integrity of the data.
Managed
Leaseweb takes care of the storage infrastructure, so all you need to worry about is connecting to it via API to begin storing your objects.
Scalable
You can easily scale your capacity with flexibility. Committed capacity plus pay-as-you-go options are available.
Durable and available
Objects are redundantly spanned across three or more devices on three or more availability zones (except the one zone tier), which guarantees the availability of the object even if one availability zone goes down.
Ubiquitous
Leaseweb Object Storage can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection using standard protocols (HTTPS). No data will be compromised in the process.
To learn more about Leaseweb Object Storage, visit our product page.