The debate over the optimal storage solution has been ongoing. There's no denying that local instance storage on AWS brings remarkable cost-performance ratios—20 times better performance cost and 10 times lower access latency than EBS. It's a powerhouse for quick, ephemeral storage needs.
Recently, Vantage posted an article titled "Don't use EBS for Cloud Native Services". While we, in principle, agree with this problem statement, we think that there is a better solution that using local NVMe SSD storage on AWS as an alternative to EBS.
The Local Storage Advantage
Local storage on AWS excels in speed and cost-efficiency, delivering performance that's 20 times better and latency that's 10 times lower compared to EBS. For certain workloads with temporary storage needs, it's a clear winner. But, let's acknowledge the reasons why data centers have traditionally separated storage and compute.
Overcoming Traditional Challenges
Challenges​ | Local Storage | simplyblock |
Scalability | Limited capacity, unable to resize dynamically | Dynamic scalability with simplyblock |
Reliability | Data loss if instance is stopped or terminated | Advanced data protection, data survives instance outage |
High Availability | Inconsistent access in case of compute instance outage | Access to storage must remain fully available in case of a compute instance outage |
Data Protection Efficiency | N/A | Use of erasure coding instead of three replicas to reduce load on the network and effective-to-raw storage ratios by a factor of about 2.5x |
Predictability/Consistency | Access latency increases with rising IOPS demand | Constant access latencies with simplyblock |
Maintainability | Impact on storage during compute instance upgrades | Upgrading and maintaining compute instances without impact on storage is an important aspect of operations |
Data Services Offloading | N/A | No impact on local CPU, performance and access latency for data services such as volume snapshot, copy-on-write cloning, instant volume resizing, erasure coding, encryption and data compression |
Intelligent Tiering | N/A | Automatically move infrequently accessed data chunks from more expensive, fast storage to cheap S3 buckets |
Simplyblock solution
Simplyblock provides a revolutionary approach that marries the cost and performance advantages of local instance storage with the benefits of pooled cloud storage. It offers the best of both worlds—high-speed, low-latency performance akin to local storage, coupled with the robustness and flexibility of pooled cloud storage.
Why choose simplyblock?
Performance and Cost Efficiency: Enjoy the benefits of local storage without compromising on scalability, reliability, and high availability.
Data Protection: simplyblock employs advanced data protection mechanisms, ensuring that your data survives any instance outage.
Seamless Operations: Upgrade and maintain compute instances without impacting storage, ensuring continuous operations.
Data Services Galore: Unlock the potential of various data services without affecting local CPU performance.
Intelligent Tiering: Leverage automated tiering to optimize storage costs, moving infrequently accessed data to more economical storage solutions.
In conclusion, while local instance storage has its merits, the future lies in a harmonious blend of the speed of local storage and the resilience of cloud-pooled storage. With simplyblock, we transcend the limitations, providing you with a storage solution that's not just powerful but also versatile, scalable, and intelligently designed for the complexities of the cloud era. Embrace the future of storage with simplyblock on AWS.