File, object, or block storage: what's the difference?

Choosing where your data lives is only half the question. How it's stored matters too.

File, object, and block storage are each built for a different job.

File storage uses the hierarchy you already know. Files live inside folders, and those folders can live inside other folders.

Object storage gets rid of that hierarchy. Each piece of data is stored as its own object, which makes it easy to scale.

Block storage works more like a hard drive. It gives applications fast access to storage, which is why you'll usually find it behind databases and VMs.

They all store data, but how they do it makes a big difference.

What are you running in your environment? Tell us in the comments.