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Cloud Computing Fundamentals · Module 5 of 10

Cloud storage

Object, block and file storage serve different needs.

📖 Key ideas

  1. Object storage (S3, Azure Blob, GCS) stores files as objects with URLs.
  2. Block storage (EBS, managed disks) acts like a hard disk for a VM.
  3. File storage (EFS, Azure Files) is a shared network drive.
  4. Storage classes trade price for access speed (hot, cool, archive).
  5. Durability like 99.999999999% means data is copied across devices.
💡 Real-life example: Object storage is a warehouse of labelled boxes; block storage is a cupboard inside your room; file storage is the shared office shelf.
Object storageFiles stored as objects in buckets
Block storageVirtual disk attached to a VM
File storageShared network file system
Archive tierCheapest, slowest storage class