Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service (OSS) allows you to store all types of data, such as images, audio files, video files, documents, software packages, files in CSV, JSON, and Parquet formats, and backup files. Each object stored in a bucket is of a specific storage class. By default, the storage class of objects stored in OSS is Standard. OSS also provides other storage classes, such as Infrequent Access (IA), Archive, Cold Archive, and Deep Cold Archive.
Factors in storage solution selection
When you select a storage class for an object, take note of the following factors:
Access frequency: the frequency of reading data from and writing data to OSS. Different business may access data at different frequencies, ranging from frequent to rare.
Retrieval time: the amount of time required to read data from OSS. Different business may have different requirements for data retrieval time, ranging from real-time access to data retrieval in hours or days.
Availability: the probability that OSS can be used within a specific period of time. Different business may have different requirements for availability, ranging from 99.00% to 99.995%.
Durability: the security and integrity of data stored in OSS within a specific period of time. Different business may have different requirements for durability, ranging from 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) to 99.9999999999% (twelve 9's).
Storage solution selection
Select an appropriate storage class for your objects based on the data access frequency, retrieval time, availability, and durability.
Storage class | Access frequency | Retrieval time | Availability | Durability |
Standard zone-redundant storage (ZRS) | Frequently accessed | Real-time access | 99.995% | 99.9999999999% (twelve 9's) |
Standard locally redundant storage (LRS) | Frequently accessed | Real-time access | 99.99% | 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) |
IA ZRS | Infrequently accessed | Real-time access | 99.50% | 99.9999999999% (twelve 9's) |
IA LRS | Infrequently accessed | Real-time access | 99.00% | 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) |
Archive ZRS | Seldom accessed | Real-time access or 1 minute | 99.50% | 99.9999999999% (twelve 9's) |
Archive LRS | Seldom accessed | Real-time access or 1 minute | 99.00% | 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) |
Cold Archive LRS | Rarely accessed | 1 to 12 hours | 99.00% | 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) |
Deep Cold Archive LRS | Rarely accessed | 12 or 48 hours | 99.00% | 99.999999999% (eleven 9's) |
For more information about the pricing for each storage class, visit the OSS pricing page.