S3 And DBaaS: What To Choose For A Project?

The volume of data in companies is growing yearly and needs to be stored somewhere. The classic option with a physical infrastructure becomes irrelevant: it cannot provide flexibility, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. So companies are increasingly choosing cloud solutions.

The main cloud storage solutions are S3 object storage and DBaaS (database as a service).
In this guide, we analyze the key features of both solutions and scenarios for their use and list the options in which S3 or DBaaS is most justified.

Object Storage

S3 object storage is a cloud service that allows storing files of any type and size. Often, unstructured data is stored in S3: images, videos, program code, and document archives.
Most cloud providers now provide S3 storage through an AWS-compatible S3 API.
In S3 storage, files are represented as objects, which consist of three parts:

• object content;
• metadata – extended information about the owner, file size, access rights, and other data;
• a unique identifier that allows you to find and manage the file.

Sets of objects in S3 form special containers (buckets); they have unique IDs. Separation by containers allows you to differentiate access rights. Thanks to this, colleagues will not change files accidentally, and attackers will not change them intentionally.

Features Of S3 Storage

S3 storages have specifics that need to be taken into account. Consider them using the example of S3 from the cloud.

1. Limits. The project has no more than 25 containers (baskets), but more than 1 million objects can be stored inside each container. The maximum size of uploaded files for standard upload is 32 GB, and for Multipart upload – up to 320 TB. Rate limits – 1000 requests / sec., when listing – up to 250 requests/sec.
2. Scalability. In S3, the volume is practically unlimited, and the storage scales with the data.
3. Extended Compatibility. S3 storage supports objects of any type (photo, video, audio, tables, reports) regardless of the degree of their structure.
4. Flexible lifecycle management. Object storage allows you to flexibly manage the life cycle of objects, including automatically deleting them at the appointed time.
5. Direct access to files. To view files, you can use the URL, the usual links.

Assignment of metadata. In object storage, each file has expanded metadata. They indicate the time of creation, volume, type, content, and other parameters. This makes it easier to structure and find objects.

Options For Working With S3 Storage In The Cloud

• Cloud platform web interface. The standard user interface does not require complex configuration; the storage can be used almost immediately after registration.
• File manager interfaces. Working with data in S3 storage is no different from working with data on a cloud drive: there are files, folders, and directories. Examples of such file managers are CyberDuck, WinSCP, and Disk-O.
• S3 SDK. Using development kits, you can organize reading and write through applications. There are SDKs for Python, Java, .NET, PHP and Go, and other programming languages.
• AWS CLI (Command Line Interface). You can create, update, and delete files in S3 storage through the command line interface.

Also Read: Areas Of Responsibility Of The Customer And The Cloud Provider