Getting started with object storage

Preparation

Before getting started, you will need to choose if you want to replicate your storage or not. If you are unsure, we recommend not replicating. Once you know this, you are able to select an endpoint, which would also depend on what availability zone you want to run your requests from. If you are unsure, select europe-se-1a as endpoint. The combination of replication (or not) and availability zone will result in an endpoint URL as is defined in our endpoint article, you will use this endpoint to reach the proper storage backend.

Initial setup

To get started with storing objects (either S3 or Swift), you create a container/bucket to store the objects in. Creating a container/bucket can be done as either S3 or Swift, the concept is the same and both protocols can use each others containers/buckets. You can use the two GUI portals (the cloud management portal or OpenStack Horizon) to create the container/bucket (they will use the Swift protocol) however they are only able to create un-replicated containers/buckets in availability zone europe-se-1a (since you cannot specify which endpoint to access). Because of this, we recommend using the protocols own command line to create the container/bucket:

Above said, its possible to use the following methods to setup a new container/bucket without replication in the availability zone europe-se-1a if this meets your requirements. Below methods use the Swift API.

Note

By using any of the below methods, you will create a container/bucket without replication in the europe-se-1a availability zone.

Cloud management portal

To create a container using the Cloud management portal, follow these steps:

  • Press “Storage” and then “Object storage” in the sidebar menu.

  • Press the “+” icon in the bottom right corner.

  • Name your container.

  • Select your storage policy.

  • If you check “public”, there will not be need for credentials to reach the container (good for when using the object storage as a CDN for instance).

  • Press “create”.

You are now able to upload objects using the portal, by pressing the container icon and then pressing “upload file” or “create folder”. You are also able to use the container via external access, see each protocol sub-article for more information.

OpenStack Horizon

To create a container using OpenStack Horizon, follow these steps:

  • Under “project”, click “Object Store” and then “Containers” in the sidebar menu.

  • Click “+ Container”.

  • Name your container.

  • Select your storage policy.

  • If you select “public” under “Container Access”, there will not be need for credentials to reach the container (good for when using the object storage as a CDN for instance).

  • Press “Submit”.

You are now able to upload objects using the portal, by pressing the container name and then pressing the upload icon (looks like a small upwards facing arrow) or “+ Folder” to create a folder. You are also able to use the container via external access, see each protocol sub-article for more information.

OpenStack Terminal Client

To create a container using the OpenStack Terminal Client, follow these steps:

  • Decide which storage policy you want to use.

  • Run this command: openstack container create --storage-policy [STORAGE_POLICY_NAME] [CONTAINER_NAME], replacing the values in angle brackets.

Note

All of the above methods will result in an container without replication being created in availability zone europe-se-1a.