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Cloud Files FAQs
We know you probably have lots of questions about Cloud Files, Cloud Files with Akamai CDN, and the differences between Cloud Files and our Cloud Drive and Server Backup offerings. Check out the FAQs below.
Cloud Files
Cloud Files with Akamai CDN
Cloud Files vs. Cloud Drive
What is Cloud Files?
Cloud Files is a cost-effective, internet-based, redundant, object-based storage offering from Rackspace. Cloud Files allows users to store/retrieve files via a simple Web Service (REST: Representational State Transfer) API, The Rackspace Cloud Control Panel or the MyRackspace® customer portal. Files can range in size from a few bytes up to extremely large and your storage grows or shrinks based on your usage. Add as much or as little as you want without worrying about over-buying/under-utilizing or running out of space. With Cloud Files, you pay for what you use and how much you use is up to you.
Where is the infrastructure located for Cloud Files?
Cloud Files infrastructure is located in the US and the UK. Our global footprint means that you can put your cloud where your customers are—and serve them at top speeds. For information on our UK products and pricing, please visit our UK site.
Who can use Cloud Files?
Developers/users can access Cloud Files via The Rackspace Cloud Control Panel, the MyRackspace customer portal, third party tools, or with any of the following: RESTful web-services, Python, PHP, Java, Ruby, or C#/.NET. Our customers come from a variety of industries, including (but not limited to): Web development/design, IT services, e-Commerce, Consulting, and Software. Common solutions that use Cloud Files include rich media sites, social media sites, and test/development sites.
Is Cloud Files a great fit for most applications?
Cloud Files can be an excellent storage solution for a number of reasons and is well suited for a number of applications:
- Backups/archives of your data
- Serving images/videos (streaming data to the user's browser)
- Secondary/tertiary, web-accessible storage for your data
- Developer friendly cloud storage for application integration
- Well suited when amount of storage is difficult to predict
There are some applications for which Cloud Files is not an ideal solution, these include:
- Native support within your Operating System. It is not possible to "mount" or "map" the Cloud Files storage system as a virtual hard-disk on your computer.
- Disk mirroring or backup solutions that require byte/block level differences. There are no concepts of "append", "file locking" or "deduplication" operations within Cloud Files.
- Data can be organized into storage compartments called "Containers," but they cannot be nested. Since there is only one top-level of Containers, you will not be able to upload a nested directory/folder structure into Cloud Files unless a transformation is performed to flatten the structure.
How large can my objects be in Cloud Files?
Users can have virtually unlimited file sizes in Cloud Files by using our Large File Support. This allows customers to upload as many file chunks as they wish, and map them together using a manifest file. Each file chunk can be up to 5 GB.
Does Cloud Files use OpenStack®?
OpenStack is an open source, collaborative software project among dozens of big players and hundreds of developers in the cloud computing space. The mission of the OpenStack community is to productize a ubiquitous open source cloud computing platform. It was launched with contributions from us here at Rackspace and the NASA Nebula cloud platform. The Cloud Files development team created and contributed the underlying source code that became the OpenStack Object Storage software—the underlying software currently powering Cloud Files.
How much does Cloud Files cost to use?
Pricing for Cloud Files is broken down to storage usage, data transfer, and requests.
Storage: $0.15/GB
Data Transfer In: No Charge
Data Transfer Out: $0.18/GB
Requests: No Charge
Other CDN Costs: No request/operation charges; No bandwidth charge from Cloud Files to CDN
Is there an SLA that's specific to Cloud Files?
Yes, there is a Cloud Files SLA which guarantees that the service will be available 99.9% of the time in a given billing cycle. Read the Cloud Files SLA.
What is RackConnect™?
You don't have to choose between dedicated hardware and cloud-based servers at Rackspace. RackConnect lets you run both on the same network. So, if you need Dedicated Servers for performance or compliance requirements and the flexibility to quickly scale with Cloud Files, Rackspace makes it all work together seamlessly. View sample configurations.
What CDN services from Akamai are available with Cloud Files?
Cloud Files has incorporated Akamai's Dynamic Site Delivery, HTTP Streaming Delivery and SSL Delivery services to bring our customers speedy delivery of their cloud storage objects. If you are looking for other Akamai products to accelerate your Rackspace hosted services, please click here.
Does Cloud Files have CNAME support?
Yes! Rackspace Cloud Files supports CNAMEs. Simply manage your CNAME records from your DNS tool, and we'll take care of the rest. No need for an API, control panel, or phone call. Your records are under your control. Find more details in our Knowledge Center.
How does HTTP Compression work over the content delivery network?
HTTP compression is a feature that notes certain file types as compressible, and does so, increasing your speed and decreasing your bandwidth fees. File types that can be compressed by the CDN are HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Click here for more information.
How much extra does it cost to CDN-enable my files and media? How does that compare to traditional CDN providers billing models?
If you want to CDN-enable files and media, there are no additional fees. The bandwidth (out) charges for CDN-enabled files
($0.18 per GB) are the same as files that are not CDN-enabled ($0.18 per GB). See more detailed
Cloud Files pricing.
In contrast, many CDN providers collect a number of usage points for billing including ingress, midgress, and egress. Ingress is the traffic from your origin server to the CDN. Midgress is the traffic within your CDN's network. Egress is the traffic from the edge locations to the end user. Rackspace only charges Cloud Files customers for egress—the traffic from the edge to the user.
How big is the Akamai network?
Akamai claims one of the largest networks in the industry, with more than 95,000 servers, in 71 countries, across 1900+ networks. The more points of presence, or edge locations, the closer you get to your users. Click here for the most up-to-date Akamai stats.
What if I need to delete my content from the edge?
Rackspace lets customers utilize a feature called Edge Purge. Edge Purge enables users to update their content at the edge before the TTL has expired. Read more in the Cloud Files Developer Guide.
Do you support the SSL delivery of content over the CDN?
Yes, Rackspace supports SSL delivery (or https) which encrypts your data in transit as it goes through the CDN. Your content remains encrypted all the way from the origin servers out to the browser. You can choose to serve your content over SSL on a per object basis simply by using your SSL URL instead of your traditional CDN URL. Click here for more information.
If I enable CDN on the files or media that I'm storing on Cloud Files, will my end-users see a much faster response time?
In most cases, CDN-enabled content is delivered much faster than non-CDN enabled content. Of course, there are a number of variables (e.g. region, file size, etc.) that impact overall response times. In tests that Rackspace completed, we observed that response times were up to 38% faster with CDN-enabled content.
Do I have to commit to using CDN for a period of time?
Rackspace Cloud Files and CDN require no long-term contracts or minimum usage. Just sign up, pay as you go, and use the
services you need when you need them. It's that simple.
How is Cloud Files different from Rackspace Cloud Drive or Rackspace Server Backup?
Cloud Drive provides a secure and flexible way to store, share, and sync files online. Rackspace Server Backup is an intuitive, easy-to-use software and online storage system that allows businesses with Windows or Linux based servers to back up, protect, and manage data online. Both of these are applications that sit on top of the Cloud Files infrastructure. The products consume the Cloud files API in order to provide a desktop experience for cloud storage users.
While Cloud Files can be consumed via our API or our control panel, Rackspace Cloud Drive goes one step further and offers desktop integration with functionality like drive mapping, automated backups, drag and drop, and much more.
Learn more about Rackspace Cloud Drive and Rackspace Server Backup.
Cloud Files vs. Cloud Drive/Server Backup Comparison Guide
| Storage Usage / Need | What to Choose | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| I have a website or application that serves lots of images & videos | Cloud Files | Akamai CDN integration |
| I need a developer friendly cloud storage solution for application integration | Cloud Files | API access |
| I want to serve my content globally via CDN | Cloud Files | Akamai CDN integration |
| I want a folder structure for my files | Cloud Drive | Nested folder support |
| I want to interact with my cloud storage just like my local storage | Cloud Drive | Map network drive |
| I want to share my files with my team members via shared cloud storage | Cloud Drive | Read/Write permissions per drive |
| I want to schedule automated backups from my desktop to the cloud | Cloud Drive | Scheduled backups |
| I want to backup my photos and video from my iPhone® or iPod touch® | Cloud Drive | Free iTunes® App |
| I want to backup, protect and manage data online for my Windows® or Linux® based servers | Server Backup | Optimized for file systems |
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