Help Center/ Object Storage Service/ Service Overview/ About OBS
Updated on 2023-06-12 GMT+08:00
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About OBS

OBS Overview

Object Storage Service (OBS) is a scalable service that provides secure, reliable, and cost-effective cloud storage for massive amounts of data.

OBS provides unlimited storage capacity for objects of any format, catering to the needs of common users, websites, enterprises, and developers. There is no limitation on the storage capacity of the entire OBS system or of a single bucket, and any number of objects can be stored. As a web service, OBS supports APIs over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). You can use OBS Console or OBS tools to access and manage data stored in OBS anytime, anywhere. With OBS SDKs and APIs, you can easily manage data stored in OBS and develop upper-layer applications.

Huawei Cloud deploys OBS infrastructures in multiple regions across the globe, delivering high scalability and reliability. You can deploy OBS in specific regions for faster access at an affordable price.

Product Architecture

OBS basically consists of buckets and objects.

A bucket is a container for storing objects in OBS. Each bucket is specific to a region and has specific storage class and access permissions. A bucket is accessible through its access domain name over the Internet.

An object is the fundamental storage unit in OBS. An object consists of the following:

  • A key that specifies the name of an object. An object key is a UTF-8 string up to 1,024 characters long. Each object is uniquely identified by a key within a bucket.
  • Metadata that describes an object. The metadata is a set of key-value pairs that are assigned to objects stored in OBS. There are two types of metadata: system-defined metadata and custom metadata.
    • System-defined metadata is automatically assigned by OBS for processing objects. Such metadata includes Date, Content-Length, Last-Modified, ETag, and more.
    • You can specify custom metadata to describe the object when you upload an object to OBS.
  • Data that refers to the content of an object.

By means of secondary development based on OBS REST APIs, OBS Console, SDKs, and a variety of tools are provided for you to use OBS. You can also use OBS SDKs and APIs to develop applications customized for your business needs.

Figure 1 Product architecture

Storage Classes

OBS offers the storage classes below to meet your requirements for storage performance and cost. For transitions between storage classes, see . For more information about billing for different storage classes, see .

  • Standard: The Standard storage class features low latency and high throughput. It is therefore good for storing frequently (multiple times per month) accessed files or small files (less than 1 MB). Its application scenarios include big data analytics, mobile apps, hot videos, and social apps.
  • Infrequent Access: The Infrequent Access storage class is for storing data that is infrequently (less than 12 times per year) accessed, but when needed, the access has to be fast. It can be used for file synchronization, file sharing, enterprise backups, and many other scenarios. This storage class has the same durability, low latency, and high throughput as the Standard storage class, with a lower cost, but its availability is slightly lower than the Standard storage class.
  • Archive: The Archive storage class is ideal for storing data that is rarely (once per year) accessed. Its application scenarios include data archive and long-term backups. This storage class is secure, durable, and inexpensive, so it can be used to replace tape libraries. To keep cost low, it may take hours to restore data from the Archive storage class.

An object uploaded to a bucket inherits the storage class of the bucket by default. You can also specify a storage class for an object when you upload it.

Changing the storage class of a bucket does not change the storage classes of existing objects in the bucket, but newly uploaded objects will inherit the new storage class.

Table 1 Comparison between storage classes

Compared Item

Standard

Infrequent Access

Archive

Feature

Top-notch performance, high reliability and availability

Reliable, inexpensive, and real-time storage access

Long-term retention of archived data at a low cost

Application scenarios

Cloud application, data sharing, content sharing, and hot data storage

Web disk applications, enterprise backup, active archiving, and data monitoring

Archive, medical image storage, video material storage, and replacement of tape libraries

Designed durability

99.999999999%

99.999999999%

99.999999999%

Designed durability (multi-AZ)

99.9999999999%

99.9999999999%

Multi-AZ not supported

Designed availability

99.99%

99%

99%

Designed availability (multi-AZ)

99.995%

99.5%

Multi-AZ not supported

Minimum storage duration

Not required

30 days

90 days

Data restore

N/A

Billed for each GB retrieved.

Data can be restored at a standard or an expedited speed.

Billed for each GB restored.

Minimum storage duration refers to the least time that will be charged for object storage. This means that objects will be charged for a minimum storage duration even if they are not stored for that long. For instance, if an Infrequent Access object is stored in OBS for 20 days (shorter than the minimum storage duration of 30 days) and then deleted, you will be billed for a storage duration of 30 days.

How to Access OBS

OBS provides various resource management tools. You can use any of the tools listed in Table 2 to access and manage resources in OBS.

Table 2 OBS resource management tools

Tool

Description

How to Use

OBS Console

OBS Console is a web-based GUI for you to easily manage OBS resources.

Console Operation Guide

APIs

OBS offers the REST API for you to access it from web applications with ease. By making API calls, you can upload and download data anytime, anywhere over the Internet.

API Reference