Open cloud provider Rackspace has launched Cloud Block Storage product to help OpenStack cloud users overcome storage-related challenges amid explosion of corporate data.
The product will be powered by OpenStack platform and aims to tackle the cloud storage challenges by addressing the demand for consistent and reliable performance for file systems, databases or other input/output (I/O) intensive applications.
It offers a standard drive option for everyday storage and a Solid State Drive (SSD) option for higher performance on a flat pricing structure with no charge for I/O.
The product does not put a cap on IOPS (Input/Output Per Second) and users do not have to specify IOPS numbers, “as they do with competing solutions”, according to rackspace. Amazon Web Services is Rackspace’s biggest competitor.
Instead of charging users on an IOPS basis, Rackspace has priced the cloud service on the use of units (gigabytes) of storage.
It will be available for 12p per gigabyte per month for Standard volumes, 56p per gigabyte per month for SSD volumes and a 7p per gigabyte per month cost for snapshot data stored.
The pricing model of Cloud Block Storage does not include additional per-instance fee.
While the standard Cloud Block Storage service is aimed at customers that require large amounts of everyday storage, the Cloud Block Storage SSD is aimed at customers that require higher levels of performance for using applications such as self-managed MySQL databases, MongoDB, Cassandra and Web caching and indexing.
“Cloud Block Storage delivers consistent performance in the cloud, with infinite scalability and a simple pricing model that gives customers the flexibility they require to meet their unique business needs,” said John Engates, chief technology officer of Rackspace.