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Ceph VS Azure Blob Storage

Compare Ceph VS Azure Blob Storage and see what are their differences

Ceph logo Ceph

Ceph is a distributed object store and file system designed to provide excellent performance...

Azure Blob Storage logo Azure Blob Storage

Use Azure Blob Storage to store all kinds of files. Azure hot, cool, and archive storage is reliable cloud object storage for unstructured data
  • Ceph Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-16
  • Azure Blob Storage Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-01

Ceph features and specs

  • Scalability
    Ceph is designed to scale horizontally by adding more nodes. This allows for seamless expansion of storage capacity as needs grow.
  • High Availability
    Ceph provides high availability and fault tolerance through its distributed architecture and data replication methods, ensuring data is always accessible.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, Ceph has a large community of developers and users which help in rapid identification and rectification of issues. It also offers lower cost of ownership compared to proprietary solutions.
  • Versatility
    Ceph supports block storage, object storage, and file systems within the same cluster, providing great flexibility and reducing the need for multiple storage solutions.
  • Performance
    Ceph delivers high performance, particularly for large-scale deployments, by balancing loads and efficiently distributing data.

Possible disadvantages of Ceph

  • Complexity
    Setting up and maintaining a Ceph cluster can be complex and requires skilled administrators, which might not be suitable for smaller organizations.
  • Resource Intensive
    Ceph can be resource-heavy, demanding significant CPU, memory, and network resources, which can be a limitation for smaller setups.
  • Documentation
    Despite a rich set of features, Ceph’s documentation can sometimes be lacking or difficult for new users to comprehend, potentially leading to longer learning curves.
  • Hardware Requirements
    Ceph typically requires high-quality, enterprise-grade hardware to achieve optimal performance and reliability, which can entail a higher upfront investment.
  • Operational Overhead
    Day-to-day management, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Ceph clusters require a specialized skill set, leading to possible increases in operational overhead.

Azure Blob Storage features and specs

  • Scalability
    Azure Blob Storage automatically scales to handle large amounts of data, enabling you to grow your storage needs without worrying about performance constraints.
  • Durability
    Azure offers high durability with multiple redundant copies of your data, ensuring that your information is safeguarded against hardware failures.
  • Cost Effectiveness
    Different tiers of storage (Hot, Cool, Archive) allow you to optimize costs based on how frequently you need to access your data.
  • Security
    Robust security features, including encryption at rest and in transit, as well as advanced threat protection, keep your data secure.
  • Integration
    Seamlessly integrates with Azure's ecosystem and other services, such as Azure Functions, Azure Data Factory, and more, for extended functionality.
  • Global Reach
    Data centers available globally ensure lower latency and compliance with local data residency requirements.
  • Automation
    Supports automation through REST APIs, SDKs, and Azure CLI, making it easier to manage and scale your storage programmatically.

Possible disadvantages of Azure Blob Storage

  • Complex Pricing
    The tiered pricing model can be complex, making it challenging to estimate costs accurately, particularly if your usage patterns vary.
  • Performance Variability
    Performance can vary based on the tier selected, and selecting the wrong tier might result in slower access speeds for your data.
  • Data Transfer Costs
    Ingress is free, but data egress and data transfer between regions incur additional costs, which can add up if your application moves a lot of data.
  • Learning Curve
    While powerful, the range of features and different settings can make it complex to get started, especially for organizations new to Azure.
  • Latency
    Although Azure data centers are globally distributed, there can still be some latency issues depending on your geographic location relative to the data center.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Using Azure-specific APIs and integrations can create a dependency on Microsoft's ecosystem, making it difficult to switch providers in the future.

Analysis of Azure Blob Storage

Overall verdict

  • Azure Blob Storage is generally a good choice for businesses and developers looking for a reliable and versatile cloud storage solution. Its comprehensive feature set, global reach, and integration capabilities make it well-suited for various storage requirements.

Why this product is good

  • Azure Blob Storage is considered good due to its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. It offers robust data redundancy options, integrates well with other Azure services, and provides strong security features like encryption and role-based access control. Additionally, it supports a wide array of data types and is suitable for storing large amounts of unstructured data, making it an ideal choice for cloud storage needs.

Recommended for

  • Developers building cloud-native applications
  • Businesses needing to store large volumes of unstructured data
  • Organizations requiring integration with other Azure services
  • Enterprises looking for flexible pricing and abundant storage options
  • Users needing advanced security and compliance features

Ceph videos

UDS 2013-03: Ceph Review - Part 1/2

More videos:

  • Review - Designing for High Performance Ceph at Scale
  • Review - RHCS 4 Cockpit Ceph Installer

Azure Blob Storage videos

No Azure Blob Storage videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ceph and Azure Blob Storage)
Cloud Storage
61 61%
39% 39
Storage
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Computing
56 56%
44% 44
Object Storage
40 40%
60% 60

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Ceph and Azure Blob Storage

Ceph Reviews

Simplyblock as alternative to Ceph: A Comprehensive Comparison
Ceph utilizes its own storage driver (rbd) that is integrated into the Linux Kernel and can also be used on other platforms as a third-party driver. It enables seamless connectivity between hosts and the Ceph cluster. In addition to OpenStack, Ceph offers deep integrations with Kubernetes through a separate CSI driver, as well as other platforms.
Best & Cheapest Object Storage Providers With S-3 Support
The libraries of Ceph support applications built in Java, C, C++, PHP, Python, and other languages. It also gives these apps access to its object storage platform via a native API.
Source: macpost.net
What are the alternatives to S3?
Ceph is a software-defined storage platform that implements object storage. Its interface is built with the same storage system that provides the librados interface, making it have the same abilities as librados like read-only snapshot and revert to snapshot. The software delivers Object, File, and Block storage in a single, unified system. Ceph is S3 compatible, and its...
Source: www.w6d.io
Ceph Storage Platform Alternatives in 2022
Open-Source software platforms are not free but you can use them as community edition or with limited features. The above storage platforms have same goals but also have some different abilities and capabilities, so choosing or using them is depended to your requirements and budget. About Ceph, I think that Ceph is still the best and there is no limitation for community...
15 FreeNAS Alternatives 2020 | Best Storage Operating System
PetaSAN is a Ceph-based iSCSI cluster, open-source FreeNAS alternative, known widely for its end-to-end integrated solution and scale-out SAN arrangement that offers impressive adaptability and execution. Its latest cloud storage technology makes it corporate-efficient to manage large data storage in one unit; run on the Linux operating system, the program has many nodes...

Azure Blob Storage Reviews

7 Best Amazon S3 Alternatives & Competitors in 2024
If you’re looking to move completely away from any of the big three cloud storage providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage), Digital Ocean Spaces is a potential option worth looking into.

Social recommendations and mentions

Azure Blob Storage might be a bit more popular than Ceph. We know about 14 links to it since March 2021 and only 11 links to Ceph. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Ceph mentions (11)

  • 10 open source tools that platform, SRE and DevOps engineers should consider in 2024.
    Ceph stands out in storage technology, offering a scalable and reliable solution where traditional systems fall short. It supports object, block, and file storage in one system, adaptable for various environments including on-premises, cloud, or container-native setups. Key benefits include scalability, enabled by the CRUSH algorithm, allowing for expansion without typical downtime. This makes Ceph suitable for... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • iSCSI over WAN / backup of remote site
    With that being said, you better take a look at something more WAN optimized and more secure, like S3 storage. You can build the S3 storage (and gain immutability) using something like MinIO (https://min.io/) or Ceph (https://ceph.io/en/) or check out Object First Ootbi offerings - https://objectfirst.com/object-storage/ (I work for them). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What's the best AWS S3 protocol alternative?
    I believe Ceph [1] could be a good alternative. It can be self hosted and I believe some cloud providers also offer it. Here are some differences between S3 and Ceph [2]. [1] - https://ceph.io/en/ [2] - https://www.lightbitslabs.com/blog/ceph-storage/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Seeking Advice & Opinions: Hybrid NAS/Cloud Storage for Family Use
    Another option is a distributed Ceph cluster https://ceph.io/en/. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • First Time NAS buyer for Digital Textile Printing Factory
    There's also cool systems like https://ceph.io/en/ that could be efficient if willing to set up and learn. Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

Azure Blob Storage mentions (14)

  • Azure Functions with Python: Triggers
    Responds to changes in Azure Blob Storage (e.g., file uploads). - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • How to Choose the Right MQTT Data Storage for Your Next Project
    Azure Blob Storage{:target="_blank"} is a scalable and highly available object storage service provided by Microsoft Azure. They offer various storage tiers, so you can optimize cost and performance based on your requirements. They also provides features like lifecycle management, versioning, and data encryption. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • How to build a data pipeline using Delta Lake
    An object storage system (e.g. Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Platform Cloud Storage, etc.) makes it easy and simple to save large amounts of historical data and retrieve it for future use. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Azure Functions: unzip large files
    I want to share my experience unzipping large files stored in Azure Blob Storage using Azure Functions with Node.js. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • How to move my work from Heroku to Azure
    - Optionally, use Blob Storage to host static content. Then you can add Azure CDN for faster access to it. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ceph and Azure Blob Storage, you can also consider the following products

Minio - Minio is an open-source minimal cloud storage server.

Google Cloud Storage - Google Cloud Storage offers developers and IT organizations durable and highly available object storage.

GlusterFS - GlusterFS is a scale-out network-attached storage file system.

Amazon S3 - Amazon S3 is an object storage where users can store data from their business on a safe, cloud-based platform. Amazon S3 operates in 54 availability zones within 18 graphic regions and 1 local region.

StorPool - StorPool is designed from the ground up to provide cloud builders, shared hosting providers and MSPs with the most resource efficient storage software on the market.

XigmaNAS - File Sharing, OS & Utilities, and Security & Privacy