Cloud storage is a general term for a data storage model most commonly offered by cloud service providers through the public internet, where cloud consumers can store and access their information “in the cloud”. Cloud storage is somewhat synonymous with storage as a service (STaaS). Beyond public cloud storage, enterprises often set up their own private cloud storage to facilitate operations and their employees, and when they are linked create a hybrid cloud.
Cloud storage is often a marketing term that encompasses remote storage and access and is not a specific technology. The underlying cloud technologies grant much greater storage resilience and efficiency, and give the cloud its characteristic agility, global scalability, and the idea that owned information can be accessed “anytime, anywhere”.
There are generally three types of distinct cloud storage models:
Recently popularized models of computing, namely decentralization, have had their impact on cloud storage. While cloud storage has used distributed systems to enhance storage redundancy and resilience, cooperative storage attempts to pool the storage resources of many “nodes” in the system, without the centralized management common in other cloud models. Sometimes this is referred to as peer-to-peer storage cloud, or a cloud storage co-op.
Generally, P2P software will be installed on all participating nodes, in which each contributes some storage capacity to the system. Then the system makes the aggregate storage available to all participants. Typically there is not a dedicated server for hosting data, an application server can be used for control and management across the collective storage for sharing and retrieving data from across the cooperative.
For the cloud consumer, cloud storage is typically set up on a pay-as-you-go plan. Enterprises may be charged for each gig of storage and traffic they consume, while general consumers may have a quota they pay for monthly. Accessing the storage can be via the web, and APIs. Cloud providers attempt to make access as easy and seamless as possible.
There are a few key technologies that allow cloud providers to maximize their storage infrastructure and serve multiple users.
Cloud storage offers advantages and disadvantages over on-premise storage options. In balancing these pros and cons, organizations can choose to operate using only cloud storage options, however an effective strategy is to employ hybrid cloud storage configurations that can help companies design their systems to reduce the disadvantages while benefiting from their advantages. The following pros and cons should be considered when deciding on cloud storage.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Generally there are three types of storage available in the cloud, each with their own technical limitations. Those include, in their basic forms, block storage, file storage, and object storage.
Cloud storage security is the designs and blueprints of how an organization will implement and manage their cloud security. There are four major concerns when placing data in the cloud, data security, network security, endpoint protection, and identify & access control.