This topic describes the terms that are used in Apsara File Storage NAS (NAS). To better understand and use NAS, we recommend that you read this topic.
Architecture of NAS
NAS is a distributed file sharing solution that provides high scalability, reliability, and performance. NAS allows you to migrate business data from on-premises storage systems to Alibaba Cloud without the need to modify your application code. Each NAS file system can be mounted on thousands of compute nodes, such as Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances and Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK) clusters. The following figure shows the relationships between compute nodes and a NAS file system.
Alibaba Cloud terms
Term | Definition | Usage notes |
UID | The ID of the Alibaba Cloud account. The account ID is a string of numbers. You can view the account ID on the Account Management page of the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. | In most cases, you must mount a NAS file system on a compute node of the same Alibaba Cloud account. A cross-account mount is complex. For more information, see Mount a file system across accounts and regions. |
region | A geographic location where Alibaba Cloud data centers are deployed. Examples: China (Hangzhou) and China (Beijing). |
|
zone | An isolated location in a region where the power supply and network are independent. Examples: Hangzhou Zone B and Frankfurt Zone A. |
|
VPC | A logically isolated network. You can connect two virtual private clouds (VPCs) by using Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN). | A network environment is a prerequisite for compute nodes to access NAS file systems. We recommend that you use a VPC rather than the classic network for better user experience. |
NAS-specific terms
Term | Definition | Usage notes |
file system | A place where files are stored. A file system can be mounted on a compute node by using a mount target. The data and metadata in the file system are stored in the traditional directory tree structure. A file system supports simultaneous access from hundreds of compute nodes for data sharing and highly concurrent read and write operations. | NAS file systems are ideal file storage applications rather than network disks. NAS file systems cannot be accessed by using RESTful APIs. |
storage plan | A billing method that is used to offset the storage usage fees of General-purpose NAS file systems. This billing method allows you to plan your NAS resources and enjoy discounts. |
|
mount | The process to connect a compute node to a NAS file system. After a NAS file system is mounted on a compute node, the compute node can access data in the file system. | You can mount a NAS file system on an ECS instance by using the CLI. You can also mount a NAS file system on a container cluster (for example, a Kubernetes cluster) by using the console or configuration file. |
mount target | An endpoint of a NAS file system in the classic network or in a VPC. Each mount target is displayed as a domain name. |
|
permission group | A group that defines the permissions to access a file system by using mount targets. You can add rules to a permission group to specify the authorized IP addresses and the corresponding read and write permissions on the file system. |
|
Capacity NAS file system | A type of General-purpose NAS file systems. Capacity NAS file systems are suitable for cost-sensitive file sharing workloads that require moderate latency, such as database backup, log storage, Windows user directory, and Linux home directory. | The storage capacity of a Capacity NAS file system can be automatically expanded. The maximum storage capacity is 10 PiB. |
Premium NAS file system | A type of General-purpose NAS file systems. Premium NAS file systems are suitable for latency-sensitive file sharing workloads that require low latency, such as container data persistence, AI training data storage, manufacturing simulation, and genetic computing. | The storage capacity of a Premium NAS file system can be automatically expanded. The maximum storage capacity is 1 PiB. |
Performance NAS file system | A type of General-purpose NAS file systems. Performance NAS file systems are suitable for latency-sensitive file sharing workloads that require low latency, such as Linux or Windows applications for enterprises, container persistent volumes (PVs), web content management, and genetic computing. | The storage capacity of a Performance NAS file system can be automatically expanded. The maximum storage capacity is 1 PiB. |
Infrequent Access (IA) storage class | A low-cost data storage pool for General-purpose NAS file systems. The IA storage class is suitable for storing data that is accessed less than three times per month. |
|
Network File System (NFS) | A software protocol that is used to mount a NAS file system on a compute node. The NFS protocol is applicable to Linux clients and most containers. |
|
Server Message Block (SMB) | A software protocol that is used to mount a NAS file system on a compute node. The SMB protocol is applicable to Windows clients and Windows containers. | None. |
POSIX-based APIs | A set of standard interfaces that are used to access files in a Linux operating system. You can call the POSIX-based APIs by using a programming language in applications to manage files. | Linux applications also use POSIX interfaces to manage on-premises files. Therefore, if you migrate on-premises files to a NAS file system, you can access the files without the need to modify the application code. To achieve optimal performance of NAS file systems, we recommend that you increase the concurrency of your applications and increase the block size for read and write operations. |