Hybrid cloud storage: a tiered approach

Hybrid cloud storage

For hybrid cloud storage, the data mainly resides within the private part of the cloud. If the applications are also deployed within the private cloud, the data warehouse can store files and data for these applications, this should be the highest performing storage system within your entire hybrid cloud storage strategy.

It’s all a matter of time and money

The costs of local and cloud data persistence are now so low that using secondary, even tertiary, data storage media as an active backup system for primary persistence, or even as an up-to-date copy of primary storage, is the solution. best focus. With some exceptions.

In the hybrid cloud storage strategy, the secondary storage system exists in the public cloud. The data is replicated or moved to a storage system in the public cloud; my preference is Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Storage Service, to provide active backup for the primary storage system. In other cases, a business can move older data to the public cloud to free up space on primary storage. AWS Glacier would be a great example.

If a secondary storage system is used to store data moved from primary storage, be sure to design your applications to search for data on both storage systems.

Triple

Archived storage is optional, but triple redundancy is always a good idea. Again, and above all, with the low cost of storage. Then why not? Archived storage systems are low-cost, low-performance systems designed for the long-term storage of data that is no longer needed for core business processes, or to support other backup systems. AWS Glacier, for example, is designed for file storage functions. In my industry, track / trace / serialization of pharmaceutical products, it is mandatory to archive data for six years.

Hybrid cloud and tiered storage

Using a hybrid cloud for a tiered data storage architecture offers several benefits to a business. First, because it establishes two, even three, separate storage systems, all at different price and performance tiers. Second, tiered storage helps developers and IT create application-specific storage strategies. For example, some data analysis systems interact almost exclusively with the most current data. As a result, an organization could move older data to cheaper systems.

Additionally, tiered storage in the cloud creates a backup environment that spans two separate platforms, the public and private cloud, to provide automatic redundancy that is geographically separated. Finally, tiered storage in the hybrid cloud should reduce the risk of data loss, caused by disk failure or human error, to almost zero.

However, the challenge is to create a tiered storage strategy that takes into account all business use cases and adequately serves business processes. For example, in data analysis, the system may need to support other use cases, such as fraud detection through machine learning.

Companies must carefully design and plan both their tiered storage architecture and their automation processes. As with anything, test, test, test to make sure the life of your hybrid tiered storage system meets your requirements and expectations.

As always, stay cloudy