Selectel Cloud Storage - Cloud Storage for Every Need

Cloud storage has recently gained huge popularity, and they are written about all and sundry. Available solutions - tens, starting with the ubiquitous Dropbox and finishing less popular, appeared not so long ago. However, if you want to do something more than just a "fill in the cloud a couple of docks and pictures", to find an adequate tool it is sometimes very difficult.

Today Layfhaker tell you about the services that can fully satisfy the basic and specific needs of individual users and entire corporations. We are talking about cloud storage Cloud StorageDeveloped by Selectel, one of the biggest Russian web hosting providers.

At first glance, Cloud Storage is no different from other services of a similar plan: customizable User folder and file structure, access settings, more or less similar interface.

The main advantage of Cloud Storage is certainly a flexible tariff system. The most popular cloud services the user is prompted to expand the volume to a fixed value for a certain amount per month, and prices there are often not flexible. For example, a stable of 100 GB for $ 10 per month. How to dispose of them - do your worst. Perhaps the use of the 100 GB you will be 30, 50 or even 70, but pay still have over 100.

Cloud Storage offers a payment system based on the principle of pay-as-you-go: the user pays only for the actual amount of stored information and in fact the consumed traffic. This, in fact, it is a key difference from other cloud storage.

Tariffs, frankly, very, very nice:

• Storage 1 GB of data costs 3 rubles a month.
• Unloading 1 GB of data from the store costs 80 cents.

Upon registration the user is given 10 test rubles to the account. These funds will be enough not only to complete testing the service, but for a couple of months of work in the real world. In the future, the balance is replenished one of the standard methods: bank card, WebMoney, Qiwi, «Yandex. Money".

Using Cloud Storage is cheaper than many popular foreign cloud services.

In the Amazon S3 storage costs are very cheap 1 GB of data, but the cost of outgoing traffic is five times higher than in Cloud Storage. In addition, Amazon S3 service cost increases due to the need to pay for the queries to his store. In RackSpace Cloud Files above the cost of storage and the cost of outgoing traffic.

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There are three scenarios for using Cloud Storage: for individuals, developers and businesses.

In the first case, the repository serves as a classic for any data warehouse. Working with files through intuitive and fairly minimalistic web interface with Drag & Drop.

Data may be stored in private and public at the container (cloud storage called first level folder). Private container will only be available to you, and the public - to any Internet user anywhere in the world.

Too many users are using Cloud Storage to store photos. That is why in the repository allows users to view photos and images in the Gallery. Gallery works beautifully on both fixed and mobile devices. All photos displayed in original quality, which is important for professional photographers.

Gallery function should be interested artists and designers: with its help they can, for example, to show potential customers their own portfolio.

Cloud Storage can also be used to exchange files between several users. You can create a link, if you click on any third party which the user can download the files in your containers and folders. This feature can be useful not only for file sharing between individuals, but also for more specialized purposes, such as to save the backup.

To access a repository FTP protocols can be used, Swift and Amazon S3. The developers do not limit users to any particular set of software and allow the use of any client that supports data protocols. This adds all compatible with Amazon S3 and OpenStack Swift utility as Cloud Storage fully supports their API.

software developers and system administrators can use the repository for a wide range of special tasks.

Cloud Storage is ideal for storing backups. Developers "Selektel" Create utility Supload (it is located in freely available on GitHub), Greatly simplifies the process of storing backups.

Cloud storage can also be used to reduce the load on web sites. Placing in storage static elements of the site, you can once and for all solve the problems such as a shortage of disk space for storage of large volumes of static content, security, storage and distinction access.

Through the use of content delivery network (CDN) the speed of accessing files to users will increase significantly. Using cloud storage can also provide access to and save the file: all downloadable data is simultaneously copied to multiple independent servers, and the missing data is recovered automatically. Possibility to upload and synchronize static files in Cloud Storage already implemented in CMS 1C-BitrixAs well as services for the storage and distribution of media Uploadcare. In principle, storage can be integrated with any CMS, supporting OpenStack Swift or Amazon S3 protocol.

Cloud Storage can also be used as a platform for hosting static websites. For this use case developers have provided a number of special features: domain attachment, specify the index file and the error page, the HTTP-headers for management caching, and so on. n.

Website hosting in the cloud storage is very advantageous from a financial point of view. For example, a hosting site http://storage.selectel.ru costs "Selektel" just 3 rubles a month (!) - and this is with more than 3000 unique visitors per month.

In late June, the vault was connected CDN company Akamai. This innovation opens up wide possibilities for web applications and web sites developers.

Abbreviation is CDN Content Delivery Network - «content delivery network." CDN is a geographically distributed network of multiple caching nodes - PoPs, arranged in different parts of the world. That they are cached all the most heavy elements of the site. When accessing the storage user will be redirected to the geographically nearest point of presence. Through the use of CDN network path between the servers is reduced, and from the point of view of the user's website is much faster.

CDN advantages are obvious. Firstly, increasing the speed of delivery of content: users from anywhere in the world receives content from the nearest point on the optimal network route.

Secondly, by using CDN you can save a lot of money on infrastructure: all heavy content distributed over the cache server, and there is no need to purchase expensive equipment for the storage and distribution.

Thirdly, CDN extends the use of storage as a tool for collaboration. Many customers' Selektel "use Cloud Storage file sharing large volume of photos, audio and video recordings, typographical layout. With a geographically remote server such files are downloaded very slowly. CDN allows you to literally cover the distance, and to significantly increase the download speed.

It should be noted that the cost of traffic through the CDN does not differ from the value of outbound traffic to the repository.

Interest in Cloud Storage and show business representatives. Cloud storage is very well suited for the organization of document management and storage of documents of small (up to 50 employees) companies. The store also has a range of features for collaboration. On the possibility of references to the load we have already mentioned above the files.

There is still a possibility to create more users (up to 50 users on one account) and differentiation of access rights to documents.

Using the API storage may be integrated with open enterprise content management systems such as Alfresco or c Nuxeo.

Summarizing, we note that the Cloud Storage - quite a decent service at reasonable prices. He is not worse than their foreign counterparts and even exceeds them in many ways. The absence of the possibility of free use of storage is not perceived as a flaw practice shows that in the same Amazon S3 free limits will never have to work with more or less serious volumes data. Billing is on the principle of pay-as-you-go (pay for actual consumption) allows you to avoid situations when you have to pay for unused capacity. "Selektel" SLA guarantees 100%, and in the event of force majeure, accompanied by the temporary unavailability of the service, always compensates simple.

Selectel Cloud Storage