Which storage solution is known for providing block, file, and object storage in distributed systems?

Which storage solution is known for providing block, file, and object storage in distributed systems?

• A. NFS
• B. GlusterFS
• C. Ceph
• D. Local storage

Answer: (C)

Ceph is designed as a unified, distributed storage platform that provides all three storage interfaces in one system. It stores data in a single cluster (RADOS) and exposes three ways to access it: block storage through RADOS Block Device (RBD), a POSIX-like file system through CephFS, and object storage through the RADOS Gateway (RGW), which supports S3 and Swift APIs. This combination lets you run block devices, file shares, and object storage from the same underlying, scalable cluster, with data automatically replicated and rebalanced as nodes are added or fail. The reason this is the best fit is that the other options typically specialize in one storage type. NFS is primarily a file-sharing protocol and doesn’t natively provide block or object storage in a distributed, unified way. GlusterFS focuses on distributed file storage rather than offering native block or object interfaces. Local storage is not distributed at all, so it cannot provide a scalable, multi-interface solution. Ceph, in contrast, delivers block, file, and object storage within a single distributed system.

Ceph is designed as a unified, distributed storage platform that provides all three storage interfaces in one system. It stores data in a single cluster (RADOS) and exposes three ways to access it: block storage through RADOS Block Device (RBD), a POSIX-like file system through CephFS, and object storage through the RADOS Gateway (RGW), which supports S3 and Swift APIs. This combination lets you run block devices, file shares, and object storage from the same underlying, scalable cluster, with data automatically replicated and rebalanced as nodes are added or fail.

The reason this is the best fit is that the other options typically specialize in one storage type. NFS is primarily a file-sharing protocol and doesn’t natively provide block or object storage in a distributed, unified way. GlusterFS focuses on distributed file storage rather than offering native block or object interfaces. Local storage is not distributed at all, so it cannot provide a scalable, multi-interface solution. Ceph, in contrast, delivers block, file, and object storage within a single distributed system.