What is the difference between Public, Private & Hybrid?
| Public Storage Clouds | Private Storage Clouds | Hybrid Storage Clouds |
|---|---|---|
| You can connect to a storage cloud used by other companies and maintained by the service provider via the internet. Typically, the services are accessible from any compatible device, including smart-phones and desktops. You can increase or decrease your capacity as needed. There are many connection protocols, choosing the right backup or cloud storage provider for you requires that you are able to use the connection protocols be is SCP, S3 API and so on. | Generally, private cloud storage set-ups duplicate the cloud model but it resides within your network. It uses a physical server to create instances of virtual services to increase the capacity. It is your choice whether to take full control of an on-premise private cloud or engage a cloud storage provider to build a dedicated private cloud that is accessible with a private connection. Speak to Z1 Storage about your needs. | Hybrid clouds are a combination of both private and public clouds and allows organizations to choose which data is stored in which cloud. For example, highly regulated data subject to strict archiving and replication requirements is generally more suited to a private cloud environment. Alternatively, less sensitive data that does not contain business secrets can be stored in a public cloud. Some organizations utilise hybrid clouds to supplement their internal storage networks with public cloud storage. Often with the encryption many public cloud providers are as safe as in-house data storage. |
Pros and Cons
Despite the many advantages cloud storage offers, it is understandable that companies will have concerns, mainly about security and administrative control.
The Pros & Cons of cloud storage
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Off site management: As your data storage provider, Z1 Storage will take responsibility for the maintenance and protection of your stored data. Although this may reduce the amount of perceived control over your data, it will free up man hours within you organization. You and your staff will be freed up to focus on other matters of importance within your business. | Security: Because breaches have been known to occur and your data is of utmost importance to us, Z1 Storage will be taking all reasonable precautions to prevent this. The latest data security practices are implemented. It is best practice to implement client side encryption when storing data. Be it in private or public cloud. |
| Quick implementation: Implementing Z1 Storage as your cloud storage provider is quick and easy. Depending on your data capacity, your organization’s could be up and running anywhere from a few hours to days. | Administrative control: When utilizing a storage provider your staff will be free to focus on other matters as the provider will take on the responsibility of managing and maintaining your data. This may reduce the amount of perceived control over your data. |
| Cost-effective: ‘You pay for what you use’. With Z1 Storage there is no hidden costs and adjustments can be made according to your needs. Your organization does incur any costs for infrastructure maintenance or changes. | Latency: You may encounter traffic congestion when using shared public internet connections. Latency can be inhibited by increasing your connection bandwidth. Z1 maintains high-availability networks with advances DDOS protection. Our free network capacity is constantly monitored and upstream bandwidth is maintained to provide plenty of headroom. |
| Scalability: On-site premise storage is limited to the space available to you whereas cloud storage is not subject to the same constraints. Your data storage needs will always be met with cloud storage. | Regulatory compliance: Industries that are highly regulated and need to adhere to strict privacy and archival rules are prevented from making use of cloud storage for some file types. Again, client-side encryption often negates these restrictions. |
| Business continuity: Should anything happen that stops you from accessing your premises, you can have peace of mind that business continuity is ensured, your data is stored off-site. |
The 3 main types of cloud storage:
| Block storage | File storage | Object storage |
|---|---|---|
| Data is organized into large volumes called ‘blocks’ and each block represents a separate hard drive. Cloud storage providers utilise blocks to split large amounts of data among multiple storage nodes. Block storage resources provide better performance over a network thanks to low IO latency (the time it takes to complete a connection between the system and client) and are especially suited to large databases and applications.Block storage scales easily and can support your organizations growing databases and applications. | Data is stored in the hierarchical file and folder structure and retains its format, no matter whether it resides in the storage system or with the client, where it originated. The hierarchical file structure makes it easier and more intuitive to find and retrieve files. This is normally used for development platforms, home directories, and repositories for video, audio, and other files. | Data is managed as objects and each object includes the data in a file along with the metadata and an identifier. The data retains the format it arrived in and the object allows the customization of the metadata, making access and analysis of the data easier. Object storage is cost effective because it lets you optimize your storage resources. Z1 Storage’s object storage can be treated as File storage with mount mounts on devices and seamless S3 API storage mounts. |