Object storage is a computer data storage architecture that manages data as objects, as opposed to other storage architectures like file systems which manage data as a file hierarchy, and block storage which manages data as blocks within sectors and tracks. Object storage is designed to handle large amounts of unstructured data, which is divided into units called objects and stored in a flat data environment known as a storage pool. Each object includes the data, metadata, and a unique identifier that applications can use for easy access and retrieval. Object storage provides programmatic interfaces to allow applications to manipulate data, including basic read, write, and delete operations. Some object storage implementations support additional functionality like versioning, replication, and data tiering.
Object storage is used for purposes such as storing objects like videos and photos on Facebook, songs on Spotify, or files in online collaboration services, such as Dropbox. It is ideal for storing large amounts of unstructured data that is written once and read once or many times. Object storage is not intended for transactional data, as it was not designed to replace NAS file access and sharing. Object storage helps break down data silos by providing massively scalable, cost-effective storage to store any type of data in its native format. It removes the complexity, capacity constraints, and cost barriers that plague traditional storage systems because it delivers unlimited scalability at low per-gigabyte prices.
