Got more and more data to store? Do you find an ever-growing mountain of content, say 100 TB up to petabytes, challenging? Object-based storage is the most cost-effective, robust way to go. So here’s how to leverage object-based storage.

Traditional data storage developed out of the way humans interact with paper storage. Individual sheets get bound into books or put into paper file folders, which are put in drawers, in file cabinets, in rooms. To find a particular item, you need to understand how it was classified and then locate it. These storage systems aren’t bound by human-made conventions. Data are stored wherever there is room, and may be parsed up into convenient bits and encrypted beforehand. In order to read the data, they fetch, decrypt, and reassemble it just before it’s delivery to you. (Think “Beam me up, Scotty!”) Metadata stored along with the data makes this all possible. The parsing (dispersed storage technology) actually adds to the data’s stability. Most importantly, object-based systems tout 100% uptime.

The Valet Metaphor

Object-based storage has been likened to a valet parking system by industry analyst firm Forrester Research. You receive a claim ticket which you can use to retrieve your car. Meanwhile, the valet service may triple-park your car to deal with an overflow of cars, or park it down the street. As long as you get your car back in good shape when you want it, you usually don’t care if it was next to other cars of the same make, model, or vintage, or even whether it was within the lines.

Cleversafe Option

Photos, videos, medical images, and sensor stream data which make up much of the explosive data growth organizations are seeing these days are ideal candidates for storage on object-based systems. Similarly, object-based storage solutions can save up to 80% total cost of ownership compared with traditional systems. One option is Cleversafe. It is now an option in IBM’s Softlayer cloud portfolio. The software can deploy as an on-premises appliance for private clouds. Additionally, it deploys on x86 servers and works with IBM Spectrum Protect and other third-party solutions for backup.