New offering extends OpenStack Object Storage with indexing and search functionality for efficient data access and management.

SoftLayer Technologies, an on-demand data center services provider, yesterday announced the immediate worldwide availability of SoftLayer Object Storage, a redundant and scalable cloud storage service that allows users to easily store, search and retrieve data across the Internet, with optional CDN connectivity, or across the company's global private network. SoftLayer Object Storage is immediately available in the U.S. with global reach coming by the end of February. Prices start at 12 cents per gigabyte plus outbound network utilization.

The company says that based on OpenStack Object Storage (code-named Swift), its Object Storage solution incorporates additional features including integrated indexing and search, rich metadata, CDN support and integration into its management toolset. A primary benefit of object-based storage is the role it can play in automating and streamlining data storage in cloud computing environments, particularly suited to managing and archiving large quantities of static information such as virtual machine images, graphic files and email. SoftLayer Object Storage adds a rich metadata system for describing, categorizing and indexing objects, and full search functionality for greater flexibility in object retrieval.

It avers that key features include:

• Integrated Indexing and Search: Quickly access information through user-defined metadata key-value pairs, file name or unique identifier.
• Worldwide Storage Fabric: Storage clusters in North America, Europe and Asia, all connected via a private network provide secure data replication and transfer.
• Redundant Architecture: Data is written multiple times per cluster with self-healing capabilities to immediately restore data in case of drive failure. Data can be replicated across the company's global data center footprint.
• Flexible Data Distribution: Highly scalable read/write access gives users the ability to serve content directly from the storage system or via the company's CDN.
• Consumption-Based Pricing: Per-gigabyte pricing allows customers to control costs, with no charge for private and inbound public network traffic.
• Powerful Management Toolkit: Full integration into SoftLayer Customer Portal, mobile applications, and a RESTful API provides full range of human or machine access.
  

"Object Storage gives our users an easy, scalable way to store and retrieve data," said Marc Jones, Director of Product Innovation for SoftLayer. "With our search functionality, SoftLayer Object Storage customers can efficiently find and retrieve objects from the store based on user-definable tags, extending their data management capabilities beyond traditional object storage services."