What is Ceph data storage?
Ceph is an open-source, distributed storage platform designed to provide scalable and highly reliable storage for cloud computing and data-intensive applications. It is particularly popular in the world of Linux-based environments and is commonly referred to as “Linux Ceph” due to its strong integration with Linux operating systems. Here are key aspects of Linux Ceph:
Distributed Storage: Ceph is built on the concept of distributed storage, where data is stored across multiple servers or nodes within a cluster. This distributed architecture ensures redundancy, fault tolerance, and scalability.
Object, Block, and File Storage: Ceph provides support for various storage types, including object storage, block storage, and file storage. This flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of use cases.
RADOS (Reliable Autonomic Distributed Object Store): The foundation of Ceph is RADOS, which is a reliable, self-healing object store. It manages the underlying storage infrastructure and is responsible for data distribution, replication, and recovery.
CRUSH Algorithm: Ceph uses the CRUSH (Controlled Replication Under Scalable Hashing) algorithm for data placement. This algorithm determines where data should be stored in the cluster, ensuring data reliability and efficient distribution.
Ceph Object Gateway: Ceph’s object storage component, often referred to as the Ceph Object Gateway, provides a RESTful interface to store and retrieve data, making it suitable for applications like cloud storage, backups, and content distribution.
RBD (RADOS Block Device): Ceph offers block storage through the RADOS Block Device, which is a distributed block storage solution. It allows you to create and manage block devices, making it suitable for virtualization and other workloads that require block-level access.
CephFS (Ceph File System): CephFS provides a distributed file system that can be mounted on Linux servers, offering a shared file system for applications and users.
Scalability: Ceph is highly scalable and can handle large data volumes and high workloads. It can be extended by adding more nodes to the cluster as storage needs grow.
Community and Open Source: Ceph is an open-source project with an active and supportive community. It is widely adopted in Linux-based environments, especially in the context of cloud computing, virtualization, and software-defined storage solutions.
Linux Ceph is a versatile and powerful storage solution that has found applications in a variety of industries and use cases, from cloud providers and data centers to research institutions and enterprises. It offers a cost-effective and reliable way to manage and store data in Linux environments.
by Tech Guy Greg “TG2”
linux foundation
