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IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS) is a highly scalable, durable, and secure storage service for unstructured data. It is the equivalent of AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage, and is one of the most widely used IBM Cloud services.
Object storage stores data as objects within buckets. Each object consists of:
logs/2024/access.log)Object storage uses a flat namespace — there are no real directories, but key prefixes simulate a folder structure.
A bucket is a container for objects. When creating a bucket, you choose:
| Resiliency | Description | Durability |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-Region | Data stored across 3 regions | 99.999999999% (eleven 9s) |
| Regional | Data stored across 3 zones in one region | 99.999999999% |
| Single Data Centre | Data stored in one data centre | 99.999999999% |
IBM Cloud Object Storage offers multiple storage classes:
| Storage Class | Use Case | Retrieval Fee | Minimum Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Tier | Unknown or changing access patterns | None | None |
| Standard | Frequently accessed, active data | None | None |
| Vault | Infrequently accessed, monthly or less | Per GB retrieved | 30 days |
| Cold Vault | Rarely accessed, yearly or less | Per GB retrieved | 90 days |
Smart Tier automatically moves data between tiers based on access patterns — no lifecycle rules needed:
All storage classes provide 99.999999999% (eleven 9s) durability. COS achieves this by:
Control access using IBM Cloud IAM roles:
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