Object storage tiers play a crucial role in maximizing access performance and minimizing storage costs for your data. Let’s delve into the details of different storage tiers and their implications.
Standard Storage Tier: Balancing Accessibility and Cost
The standard storage tier offers immediate access to data and is suitable for frequently accessed content such as images, logs, and videos. Although it incurs higher storage costs, it ensures quick and seamless retrieval of data when needed. During bucket creation, you can set the default storage tier to standard and even enable auto-tearing for efficient management of data.
Infrequent Access Tier (Cool Tier): Cost-Effective Accessibility
Ideal for data accessed infrequently but requiring immediate availability, the infrequent access tier provides a balance between accessibility and cost-effectiveness. While offering lower storage costs compared to the standard tier, it imposes a minimum storage retention period of 31 days. Prorated costs apply for early deletion or overwriting of objects. Backup solutions for on-premises data are common use cases for this tier.
Archive Storage Tier: Long-Term Retention at Minimal Cost
The archive storage tier caters to data with rare access requirements but mandates long-term retention. Objects stored in this tier offer the lowest storage costs but come with a minimum retention period of 90 days. Notably, objects in the archive tier need to be restored before access, with a restoration process typically taking close to an hour. Compliance and audit mandates, as well as historical data storage, are primary use cases for the archive tier.
Considerations and Best Practices
- Storage Cost Management: Choose the appropriate storage tier based on your data access patterns and retention requirements to optimize costs.
- Access Speed vs. Cost: Balance the need for immediate data access with cost considerations by leveraging the right storage tier for each data type.
- Retention Policies: Be mindful of minimum retention periods and associated costs, especially when managing infrequently accessed or archival data.
- Data Restoration: Understand the implications of restoring objects from the archive tier to the standard tier for access, including the associated time and cost considerations.
In conclusion, understanding the nuances of object storage tiers empowers you to make informed decisions regarding data storage, access, and cost management within your OCI environment. Choose wisely to strike the perfect balance between performance, accessibility, and affordability for your data assets.