Cloud storage options
The existing storage types available in our clouds are:
- Volume storage: The standard storage unit for cloud computing; can be attached to and detached from an instance.
- Ephemeral/Disk storage: Virtual local disk storage tied to the lifecycle of a single instance.
- Object storage: Non-hierarchical storage where data is created or uploaded in whole file-form
- Shared file system storage: Storage in the cloud shared filesystem; must be configured on each instance where it is mounted.
Attributes of each storage type are compared in the following table:
| Attribute | Volume storage | Ephemeral/Disk storage | Object storage | Shared filesystem storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default storage option | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Can be mounted on a single VM | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Can be mounted on multiple VMs (and across projects) simultaneously | No | No | No | Yes |
| Backed up | No | No | No | Yes |
| Suitable for write once, read only, and public access | No | No | Yes | No |
| Suitable for data/files that change frequently | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Hierarchical filesystem | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Suitable for long-term storage | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Deleted automatically upon deletion of VM | No | Yes | No | No |
| Standard magnitude of allocation | GB | GB | TB | TB |