Overview
XSDS exposes three distinct storage interfaces from a single distributed platform. Each interface suits a different application pattern — selecting the right type for your workload is the first step to optimal performance and cost efficiency.Prerequisites
- An active Xloud account with project access
- Familiarity with your application’s I/O pattern (random vs sequential, latency vs throughput)
Storage Interface Comparison
Block Storage
- Overview
- Best For
Block storage volumes attach to Xloud Compute instances as persistent disks. Volumes
exist independently of instance lifecycle — data survives instance deletion and can
be re-attached to a different instance.Capabilities:
Object Storage
- Overview
- Best For
Object storage provides an S3-compatible API for storing and retrieving unstructured
data — images, backups, logs, media files, and application artifacts — at any scale.Capabilities:
Access credentials for object storage are separate from your Xloud Dashboard
credentials. Generate S3-compatible access keys from the Dashboard under
Project → Object Store → Access Keys.
Shared File Storage
- Overview
- Best For
Shared file storage provides a POSIX-compliant distributed file system accessible
from multiple instances simultaneously — suitable for home directories, shared
configuration, and workloads that require concurrent read/write access.Capabilities:
Choosing the Right Type
My application is a relational database
My application is a relational database
Use Block Storage. Databases require low-latency random I/O and exclusive
access to their data files. Choose an NVMe or SSD-backed volume type for
production OLTP databases.
I need to store uploaded user files or media
I need to store uploaded user files or media
Use Object Storage. Media files, documents, and user uploads benefit from
the S3 API’s simplicity, scalability, and built-in lifecycle management. Applications
integrate via the S3 SDK — no mounting required.
Multiple instances need to read and write the same data
Multiple instances need to read and write the same data
Use Shared File Storage. If your application tier requires a common data
directory accessible by all instances (e.g., a shared cache, log directory, or
configuration tree), shared file storage provides concurrent access with POSIX
semantics.
I need to store backups at low cost
I need to store backups at low cost
Use Object Storage with an erasure-coded pool. Erasure coding reduces storage
overhead to 1.33–1.5× compared to 3× for replicated storage, making it the most
cost-efficient option for backup and archival workloads where access is infrequent.
Next Steps
Access Methods
Connect to each storage type — Dashboard, CLI, S3 API, and mount protocols
Data Protection
Configure replication and erasure coding for each storage type
Snapshots
Create and restore snapshots for block volumes and object buckets
Block Storage User Guide
Full volume lifecycle management — create, attach, extend, and back up volumes