The Object Storage Chart - A to Z
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Active Archive
Storage
Contains the reference or golden
copy of data that may be needed
for current and future reference.
Cloud Storage
A storage model where logical pools
of data are distributed across
multiple physical storage systems
and possibly locations to deliver
uninterrupted easy access to data.
Durability
The longevity of data or the
likelihood that the desired data
will be successfully retrieved
(see bit rot).
Erasure Coding
Data protection scheme that
breaks data into shards that are
encoded with parity and then
stored across multiple storage
media and locations.
Fifteen Nines
The 99.9999999999999%
likelihood of an outcome.
Data durability of fifteen
nines implies that only 1
in 10 trillion data retrievals
would fail.
Geo-Spreading
The distribution of data across
multiple physical storage
systems located in multiple
geographic locations in order
to provide uninterrupted
system availability.
Bit Rot
The degradation of magnetic
storage whereby data cannot
be reliably retrieved.
Hierarchy-free
The absence of a tree or
other parent-child structure,
such as the flat relationship
between data objects in an
object-based storage system,
which allows extreme scale.
Objects
The singular entity, similar to
a file, that contains data
stored within an object
storage system.
Protection
The safeguarding of data
against loss or inability to
access it when needed.
Query Analytics
The ability to analyze data
from a query or question.
Representational
State Transfer
(REST/ReST) APIs
An architectural style for
networked applications that
require interoperability across
servers, storage, etc. generally
through the HTTP protocol.
Sharding
The breaking up of an object into
smaller shards/fragments from
which the original object can be
reconstructed.
Tape Consolidation
The rationalization of multiple
backup processes and/or
copies made of data into a
single copy.
Unstructured Data
Any kind of data that does
not have a predefined model
or organizational layout such
as that found within a
columnar database.
Volume of Data
Increasing dramatically,
International Data Corporation
(IDC) estimates that by 2020
there will be more than 44
zettabytes (44 billion terabytes)
of data generated.1
1
Source: IDC, The Digital Universe of Opportunities Study, 2014
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Web-scale
An architectural approach to
computing that historically
assumed very large deployments
such as an enterprise data center
(or larger) but today tends to
describe the scalability associated
with large cloud service providers,
if not frankly, the entire planet.
X100
The integrated object
storage solution from the
ActiveScale™ product
family that can scale up to
52PB within a single
namespace.
Yottabyte
One septillion bytes, an
immense amount of data.
IDC estimates by 2020 there
will be 44 zettabytes1
of
stored data generated
globally, which would equate
to 0.044 yottabytes.
Zeta Architecture
A high-level enterprise
architecture associated with
Big Data that seeks to simplify
business processes and define
a scalable way to integrate
data rapidly into a business
environment.
JPEG Friendly
A storage approach that treats
pictures or other media as a
single object that can be easily
indexed and retrieved typically
from an object store.
Key Management
The care and handling of
security keys that encrypt
or lock data against
unauthorized access within
a shared data center
infrastructure.
Large-scale
Massive deployment typically
implies data storage that is
measured in tens, hundreds,
or more petabytes.
Metadata
Data that provides information
about other data.
Namespace
Collection of objects held
within an object storage.
Identifier Address
A globally unique address
assigned to an object that
enables it to be found within a
distributed object store without
having to know the physical
location of the data.
The ABCs of Object Storage