What is Distributed storage?
A software-defined storage system called distributed storage makes it possible to access data whenever, wherever, and with whomever you choose. In order to handle scale and data access in a HA (High Available) environment with the intelligence to identify and react to faults and cyberattacks, distributed storage was developed as a logical volume management system.
It consists of data stored on geographically separated clusters of storage nodes, replacing the conventional three-tier design with a distributed file system. Features that coordinate and synchronize data among the cluster nodes are part of the storage system.
How distributed storage works
Storage services were dispersed across multiple physical sites by public cloud providers. By physically storing data close to where it will be needed, very low latency is the goal.
Since an administrator may uniformly manage data from all three storage types from a single control plane, the distinctions between public, private, and hybrid cloud storage are blurred or vanish entirely with distributed cloud storage.
Why is distributed storage important?
- Software-defined distributed storage gives users the ability to create, operate, and grow a single, unified storage platform across datacenters, branch offices, or the cloud, replacing the conventional centralized SAN and NAS. All workloads and users can access storage with ease to an integrated distributed storage architecture, which distributes files, objects, and volumes over several protocols.
- All protocols are accessible: Clients have been purchasing files, objects, and volumes as point solutions, which are overseen by separate teams. Customers can build storage services at core/edge or expand to the cloud with ease to a distributed storage system that unifies all three access types on a single platform. Furthermore, central management and oversight are provided for all three storage services.
- Scale-out architecture: Distributed storage is by design a scale-out architecture, in contrast to conventional storage arrays. The storage capacity can be increased indefinitely by adding as many nodes as you like.
- Faster provisioning: Storage rules may be made and linked to virtual machines that can instantly use resources from the dynamic storage pools since the distributed storage system builds a shared pool of storage resources from several physical nodes. In contrast to traditional storage, where an administrator must manually establish a volume or file share and attach it to the virtual machine, this enables faster storage provisioning.
- Management and monitoring made easier: With dashboards, data analytics tools, and other features, distributed storage systems provide easy management and monitoring.
Features of distributed storage
Although each cloud storage provider may have different capabilities, the majority of distributed cloud storage systems consist of:
- Users can distribute data among cluster nodes and readily retrieve data from those nodes to partitioning.
- Replication is the process of copying data across multiple nodes and updating it consistently whenever it changes.
- Resiliency: even if one or more nodes fail, the data is still accessible.
- Simple scaling: By adding or deleting cluster nodes, system administrators can easily increase or decrease storage capacity as needed.
Distributed cloud storage benefits and drawbacks
There are several benefits and drawbacks of distributed cloud storage:
- Helps with regulatory compliance: a lot of rules prevent companies from transferring sensitive information across borders; for example, they can now more easily keep national data domestic.
- Greater ambiguity on the attack surface: as there are no “central” servers, there isn’t a clear target for malicious actors to target.
- Decreased chance of a network outage Fault tolerance is increased because data is kept in local or regional clusters, which can occasionally operate independently.
- Data files are divided, encrypted, and kept on a network of servers for increased privacy.
- Lower energy expenses because a large, centralized data centre doesn’t need to be built and maintained.
Challenges of Distributed cloud storage
The distributed nature of this storage strategy is the main source of challenges:
- Bandwidth: Comprised of various cloud storage systems and types, distributed cloud storage may have a range of connectivity models that might strain internet connections located at the edge.
- Security: Data security across global cloud storage platforms might be difficult.
- Keeping geographically restricted data secure, backup, and business continuity can be difficult.
Distributed cloud storage examples
Some well-known cloud storage solutions, such Microsoft Azure Blob Storage and Amazon S3, are built on distributed cloud storage. A content delivery network (CDN), like YouTube or Netflix, is another excellent illustration of distributed cloud storage. These businesses store their video material in particular global locations that are closer to the viewing regions (consider viewers of a show in China versus viewers of an English-language video in the UK). This lowers latency.
Distributed Cloud Computing Vs Cloud Computing
| Aspect | Distributed Cloud Computing | Cloud Computing |
|---|---|---|
| Storage Distribution | Data is dispersed across multiple locations and devices. | Data is stored in a central data center with numerous servers. |
| Reliability | Higher reliability due to data being spread across various locations, reducing the risk of data loss. | Lower reliability, as data is dependent on a single data center. |
| Latency | Reduced latency, as data is stored closer to where it is used. | Higher latency, due to data having to travel long distances. |
| Performance | Enhanced performance, as data access is faster and more local. | Slower performance due to potential long-distance data travel. |
| Energy Efficiency | More energy-efficient, no need for large cooling systems or centralized data centers. | Less energy-efficient, as data centers require extensive cooling and infrastructure. |
| Environmental Impact | Greener option, reduces energy consumption and carbon footprint. | Higher environmental impact due to energy consumption of data centers. |
| Security | Enhanced data security, with replication and distributed backups to protect against attacks or disasters. | Security relies on centralized backups, more vulnerable to attacks like ransomware. |
| Disaster Recovery | Improved disaster recovery capabilities due to distributed backups across multiple sites. | Disaster recovery depends on a single central location, more vulnerable to large-scale events. |
