Understanding OpenStack Swift OR Openstack Object Storage Components in 2021

In continuation of our previous chapter on “ Information about OpenStack image glance component and also how to manage images“, today we are going to discuss a new component of OpenStack which is “OpenStack Swift or say Object Storage”.

Therefore without wasting our time let me first introduce you to this component:

OpenStack (swift) Object Storage :

The use of the OpenStack (swift) Object Storage component is the data storage of data that is frequent and accessible with the help of a collection of standard servers for storing the petabyte data i.e. a multiple of the unit byte. The “PETA” indicates the fifth power of 1000 which means 10¹⁵ in the SI unit

It is also a long-lasting storage system for the huge amount of fixed data that can be recovered and edited. A distributed architecture is used by the Object (swift) Storage component and there is no principal point of control, therefore, it provides large versatility, repetitions, and stability. With the help of OpenStack software, the objects are written to numerous hardware devices which ensure the data iteration as well as coherence throughout the cluster.

New nodes are added to the storage clusters by scaling them horizontally. If any node fails, then OpenStack helps by replicating the contents of that node using some different active nodes. This is because software logic is used by the OpenStack for ensuring the replication of data at the same time allocation over other devices, cheap entity hard drives, and the standard servers which can be used in situations where there are costly instruments.

This component is perfect for data storage which is inexpensive and properly balanced. As mentioned earlier it offers a properly allocated storage plan which can be accessed using API and also it is directly included in the applications or it can be used for taking backups, documenting, and retaining that data.

It is known that OpenStack Object Storage (swift) component is used for energizing or powering the largest storage cloud in the world which is also known as an Open source cloud storage project.

Therefore let’s discuss Open source cloud storage project in detail:

The OpenStack Object Storage (swift) component is the most famous and extensively used object storage system which we have discussed already. It is offered by Apache 2 open source license. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the swift component is developed for storing data like files, videos, web contents, images, backups, and snapshots of VM and also a large scale of data that are unstructured as well as highly available and has long durability.

Other contributors that are included along with SwiftStack are HP, RedHat, Rackspace, and IBM. The storage clouds at Comcast, Time Warner, Globo as well as Rackspace, NTT, OVH, Wikipedia which are public clouds, and IBM SoftLayer, etc. are also influenced by the Swift

Let me explain the ProxyFS project:

ProxyFS is a file system that is released by the SwiftStack team which involves file services naturally available for the Swift. The aim is to provide high-quality support to the standard applications which cannot be edited for using object APIs and also to immensely decrease the requirement for the gateways of the file system.

With the help of ProxyFS, a similar kind of data can be accessed through SMB or NFS and also using AWS S3 and Swift APIs. In SwiftStack the ProxyFS is incorporated as a file Access.

Information about the main contributors involved in the Swift project:

The major contributor to the OpenStack Swift project is the SwiftStack involving around 20% of the community activity in 2015. A member of the SwiftStack team, John Dickinson, who is a Project Technical Lead (PTL), shares the major releases.

The rigorous participation of the SwiftStack in the Swift project is in high spirits because to ensure their responsibilities towards the open-source data. It is important to note that using SwiftStack you own your data and you are not at all confined to anything which is registered.

What is Swift in SwiftStack?

As discussed earlier, SwiftStack is an absolute storage system that is enterprise-ready with Swift present at its center. New and required solutions that are external to the data path are delivered by the SwiftStack. On the other hand, the OpenStack Swift components are present inside the data path. This offers private cloud storage to the businesses which can be deployed easily, also scalable, and integrated with the present systems, and can be preserved over a long time.

How to use the Swift?

The Swift is available for everyone to use freely but at the same time, it requires a specialized technical team of engineers for designing, testing, deploying, and managing the Swift cluster. Swift is maintained purely inside the SwiftStack, using which it is possible to test it and start using it for free, by just creating an account and deploying the software on a minimum of one node.

Review of Object Storage (Swift) component:

There are two separate storage classes that are offered by the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for addressing the requirement of both high performing hot storage which is accessed frequently and also cold storage which is accessed less frequently. These are also called storage class tiers. These storage tiers are helpful in maximizing the performance of suitable and reduced prices that are achievable.

Therefore use the Object Storage (swift) component for accessing the data immediately and frequently. The higher price point for storing the data in the Object Storage tier is validated by the accessibility of data and its performance.

Archive Storage is used for the data which is rarely accessed at the same time it must be preserved over a long time period.

Using the following ways you can use Object Storage:

• As a first data archive for Big Data/Hadoop:

The Object Storage (swift) can be used as a first data archive for the big data or Hadoop. As discussed earlier it offers you an accessible storage medium that allows you to store a high amount of datasets and also helps you in processing them effortlessly. Apache Spark and MapReduce which are known as big data analytics engines are connected by an HDFS connector. Using this connectivity the analytics engines are enabled for working directly with the data stored in the Swift

• For preserving Backup and Archiving data:

This component can be sued for preserving backup as well as archiving the data which is stored for a long period of time for joining with different instruction concurrences.

• Used as a first Content archive/repository:

The Object Storage (swift) component can be used as the main content archive or the repository for the videos, images, data, and logs. As discussed earlier this data can be stored and preserved for a long duration and provides this content from the swift directly.

• For preserving application Log Data:

The Swift component can be used for preserving the application log data thus you can do the analysis of this data for determining its pattern of usage and also to resolve the issues.

• Store Large Datasets:

The Swift component can be used for storing the application data which is accomplished and also required to be conserved for future use.

Summary:

In today’s article, we tried to introduce you to the swift component as well as how to use it and its components. We hope you find this information helpful. If yes, then please leave a comment in the comment section below.