Cloud Object Storage for Video: Best Storage for Media Files 

In the beginning, digital video was a curiosity. Postage stamp-sized video players showed grainy, choppy clips for those willing to endure half hour–long downloads over dial up internet. However, as David Mamet might say, “Things change.” Digital video is easily the biggest component in the 400+ exabytes of data created in the world every day. YouTube fans watch 5 billion videos a day. That’s a lot of data. Where does it all go? This article offers an answer, discussing the role of cloud object storage as the best storage for media files.  

Benefits of Cloud Object Storage   

Cloud object storage, also known as cloud object-based storage, handles collections of data, such as media files, as objects. It stands in contrast to file storage, which requires directories, and block storage, which manages data storage through blocks of space on a storage device. File and block storage have their uses, but they are not ideal for media files.   

In cloud object storage, each object contains the media data, along with metadata that can be customized based on the workload. (This is not usually possible with file and block storage.) Each object has a unique identifier. Admins can program access to the media files using interfaces—easily spanning multiple instances of storage hardware. As a result, certain storage administration tasks, such as replication, become easier than is possible with file and block storage.  

Cloud object storage offers a number of distinctive benefits, especially for media workloads. For one thing, cloud object storage is extremely scalable. With a flat architecture, compared to file or block storage, and its ability to work on commodity hardware across multiple storage providers, its scalability is virtually infinite. Admins can easily add new devices to expand storage volume, spreading “storage pools” across devices and locations.  

The ease of deployment across sites allows for relatively streamlined implementation of redundancy and backup. Such resiliency is useful for any storage workload, but for media, it’s a big advantage. The size of media files and the corresponding scale of media file repositories makes backup challenging with a technology like cloud object storage to facilitate the needed redundancy and recovery capabilities. 

Cost is another big advantage. Cloud object storage is usually cheaper than alternatives, on a per gigabyte basis. This is partly based on the cloud object storage’s “pay as you go” model. The ability to work on a wide range of storage hardware also drives cost savings. And, the reduced complexity and resulting simple administration helps save on overhead. 

Metadata customization is a further benefit. It’s possible to add context to metadata, which is useful when there may be thousands of media files with different characteristics. Custom metadata also enables data analytics for storage objects, which is a worthwhile capability to have in large-scale media workloads.  

Top Cloud Object Storage Use Cases for Media Producers  

Cloud object storage offers a level of elasticity and scalability that makes it ideal for storing and managing unstructured data, such as media files. Media producers, ranging from entertainment businesses to more mundane operations like video surveillance firms, benefit from cloud object storage in the following top use cases: 

• Backup and recovery—In theory, backing up and recovering media files is no different from backup and recovery for any type of data. In practice, however, the size of media files and the collective size of a media file portfolio make backup and recovery quite different from conventional backup workloads. Cloud object storage enables backup managers to back up media files relatively easily, regardless of the volume of data involved. This is because cloud object storage offers scalability across “storage pools” that potentially span multiple providers and instances of storage hardware. Simplified administration of such extensive back up instances adds to the attractiveness of cloud object storage. 
• Archiving—The archiving of media files presents logistical and financial challenges. Again, the volume of storage required is typically immense. Reliability is critical, so redundancy is essential. For example, a video surveillance file might never be viewed, but if law enforcement needs to see it, then the file had better be available. Cloud object storage is a great solution, because it facilitates economical “cold storage” of media files. It is relatively simple to create redundancy with cloud object storage, while also deploying with lower cost cloud storage providers. Custom metadata adds further advantage by allowing storage admins to tag archived files for easy identification and retrieval.  
• Remote collaboration and media asset management—Media files, especially in the entertainment and media industries, often have high value. Indeed, the data comprising a hit movie might be worth billions of dollars. Producers need security and resiliency, but also streamlined access and high-performance storage for purposes of remote collaboration and media asset management. Cloud object storage delivers on these two requirements better than alternatives.  

Why Wasabi Cloud Object Storage for Media Files?  

Wasabi offers cloud object storage with distinctive features that make it an ideal storage solution for media files. Customers in the entertainment and media industries, as well as in video surveillance, have found Wasabi to be a storage solution that meets their business and technical requirements. 

For backup and recovery, Wasabi’s pricing policy of no extra fees for data egress or API requests makes it cost effective for customers to test their backups anytime they want without being penalized with additional, unpredictable costs. Wasabi also offers immutability for stored data, which protects backup volumes from ransomware or other malicious attempts to delete or modify backed up files.  

In the archiving workload, Wasabi’s price/performance characteristics make it an attractive solution for media, entertainment, and security video use cases. Wasabi’s performance is as fast as the fastest hyperscaler tiers of service, but its prices are closer to those of cold storage tiers. Wasabi’s flat-rate pricing, with no additional transaction fees, allows customers to treat Wasabi as an active archive—with immediate access to archived files. 

The active archive quality of Wasabi storage enables flexible, economical remote collaboration. Users can utilize an active archive to enable remote collaboration and virtual editing. Wasabi makes possible immediate yet affordable access to files from anywhere, anytime.   

Conclusion 

Media files are huge, and collections of them are inconceivably enormous. Storing them, and managing that storage, is a challenging proposition. Cloud object storage is the best approach. It is the most economical, but also the most flexible and scalable. Wasabi operationalizes these advantages with a unique offering that optimally combines predictable cost and high performance.