Data Storage

Openstack Swift Data Storage Explained

Openstack Swift Data Storage Explained

I would like to take this opportunity to describe how Openstack Swift stores data.  Swift storage basically consists of four components: Ring, Database, Zones, and File system.

Openstack Swift Accounts, Containers & Objects

Openstack Swift data consists of Accounts, Containers, and Objects. A Swift item then, can be an account, a container, or an object.  A Swift Cluster can have multiple accounts, an account can have multiple containers, and a container can have multiple objects.  Containers cannot be nested.  That is, a container can only contain objects,  it can not contain other containers.  So Swift storage is considered to be a flat file system.