General

Last change on 2024-09-23 • Created on 2024-09-23 • ID: ST-EE9D8

⚠️ Object Storage is currently in Beta test. For more information see this FAQ: Object Storage » Beta test

What is Hetzner Cloud Object Storage?

With our S3-compatible Object Storage, you can save data in a self-contained environment called "Bucket". You can set individual visibility settings for each Bucket.

Object Storage
Bucket A
  • Text file 1
  • Text file 2
    • Bucket B
  • Image file
  • Video file
    • Bucket C
  • Text file
  • Music file

    • Technical background:

    When you save data (e.g. text document or music file) it is conceptualized as an object. Each object includes the following information:

    • Object key (unique identifier for the object)
    • Data (e.g. image or text document)
    • System metadata (e.g. file type, file size)
    • Custom metadata (key-value pairs set during the upload of the object to store any additional information)
    • Attributes (e.g. which users (keys) are allowed to download or delete the object)

    On the storage disk, the object is saved as a whole (along with its data, metadata and attributes) under its unique key (name).

    Storage Disk
    Object key
    ATTRIBUTES
    METADATA
    DATA
    Free Disk Space
    Object key
    ATTRIBUTES
    METADATA
    DATA

    Each object is replicated multiple times across different nodes in a Ceph cluster to ensure redundancy and high availability.

    What is the difference between Buckets (object storage) and Cloud Volumes (block storage)?

    General differences:

    Buckets Cloud Volumes
    Buckets offer storage space as a stand-alone product that customers can use independently of any other cloud resources. Cloud Volumes are used to extend the storage space of a cloud server.
    You can access the data directly via the API or, if the Bucket is publicly visible, via a URL in the webbrowser. The only way to access data from a Cloud Volume is to mount it to a server and access it from there.
    Since you need to access the data via the Internet, it inevitably comes with some latency, making it suitable for backups, database dumps, or logs. Since the storage device is directly mounted to the server, it usually comes with very low latency, making it suitable for real-time databases and application with high latency sensitivity.
    The storage space is not limited by the size of a storage device and therefore offers high flexibility to scale up or down at any time. If you need more storage space, you need to resize and reformat the block storage device, which can be a tedious task.
    Primary purpose: Write once, read many (WORM) Primary purpose: Edit, move, or delete files however you need.
    Objects are immutable, which means it is not possible to modify an object. To "update" a file, you need to upload the new version. This will create a new object and automatically delete the old object. You can open existing files with a text editor like nano or vi and edit the file directly.
    A Bucket can only hold a list of files. You cannot add directories or subdirectories. To get a hierarchical structure, you would need to name the files accordingly, e.g. music/example.mp3. You can save your files in different directories and subdirectories however you need.

    Technical differences:

    Object Storage and Cloud Volumes both save the data on multiple nodes to ensure redundancy and high availability. However, the data is saved in two very different ways.

    • With object storage, data is saved as an entire object. It is not possible to modify an object. For any changes, a new object is created.
    • With block storage, data is spilt into multiple fixed-sized blocks that are saved separately. When you access your data, it is first "reassembled". When you modify data, the file system updates the specific blocks as needed.

    Is Object Storage exclusively managed via the Hetzner S3 API?

    The following is managed via our Cloud Console and NOT via the S3 API:

    • Create S3 credentials
    • Add protected label to Buckets
    • Move a Bucket from one project to another project

    For everything else, meaning everything Bucket and object related, you should use our Hetzner S3 API.

    Is Object Storage available in all Cloud locations?

    No, at the beginning of the beta test, Object Storage is only available in Falkenstein.

    Click here to see what applies from 1 November 2024 on.

    No, Object Storage is currently only available in our European locations, which are:

    • Nuremberg
    • Falkenstein
    • Helsinki

    Why do the total file count and total size in Cloud Console not update right after changes?

    These Bucket statistics are not calculated in real-time. It can take up to 15-20 minutes for these values to be updated.

    What configuration and security features are currentliy supported?

    Feature Supported
    AWS Signature version
  • Version 4 algorithm
    		•
    Storage classes
  • Standard
    		•
    Server-Side Encryption (SSE)
  • SSE-C
    		•
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