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blog optimization
Introduction
In today’s digital age, there is a growing challenge of handling and managing large amounts of data. IT administrators and companies are constantly seeking cost-effective, durable, and scalable solutions for storing unstructured data. Object storage has emerged as the preferred choice for many, and Cloud Storage by Google offers an object storage service that can handle exabytes of data and billions, if not trillions, of objects.
The Problem of Cost Optimization
While object storage is efficient, cost optimization for data stored in it can be a complex problem. Choosing the right storage class for your data depends on understanding its access patterns. However, if these patterns are unknown or unpredictable, it becomes difficult for customers to make the appropriate storage class selection. This can have significant cost implications, as the price for archive storage is much lower than standard storage. Storing frequently accessed data in colder storage classes can result in unexpected operations charges, while keeping data that is never accessed in standard storage can lead to high at-rest storage bills.
The Growing Complexity of Cost Optimization
As more organizations and applications start leveraging object storage at a massive scale, the task of optimizing for cost becomes increasingly difficult. IT administrators and organizations need predictability and control over their storage spend as they migrate workloads to the cloud. They require a solution that can automatically place their data in the most suitable storage class.
Introducing Autoclass by Cloud Storage
Autoclass is a bucket-level setting offered by Cloud Storage that simplifies and automates lifecycle management of data based on its last access time. This feature is particularly useful for workloads with unpredictable or unknown access patterns. Autoclass automatically moves data that is not frequently accessed to colder storage classes, reducing the cost of at-rest storage. When cold data is accessed, it is automatically promoted to the Standard storage class, optimizing the operations costs for future accesses.
Benefits of Autoclass
Enabling Autoclass in Cloud Storage provides several benefits. First and foremost, it delivers cost savings by ensuring that data is stored in the most favorable storage class for the specific workload. Autoclass removes surcharges associated with colder storage classes, such as early deletion fees, retrieval fees, and operations charges for class transitions. This helps organizations achieve price predictability and reduces their storage costs.
Testimonials from Users
Users of Autoclass have praised its effectiveness and simplicity. Ian Matthews, co-founder and CEO of Redivis Inc., a data platform for academic research, shared his experience, stating that Autoclass has shifted the paradigm in the research community. It allows them to keep more data for longer periods while reducing costs. Matthews estimates that 90% of their data will benefit from Autoclass. He also highlights the value of not having to invest valuable engineering resources in building cost optimization capabilities, which could potentially lead to costly mistakes. Autoclass provides a simple and automated way to reduce storage costs and achieve price predictability.
Enabling Autoclass
Autoclass can be enabled when creating a new Cloud Storage bucket using the CLI, API, or Cloud Console. Once enabled, Autoclass manages the lifecycle of all objects uploaded to the bucket unless disabled. If Autoclass is disabled, the objects in the bucket remain in their current storage class without any data movement or changes. Disabling Autoclass incurs no charge.
Future Enhancements
Support for enabling Autoclass on existing Cloud Storage buckets will be available in an upcoming release in 2023. Additionally, all transitions carried out by Autoclass can be observed using Cloud Monitoring dashboards. These dashboards provide easy observability and allow users to validate what Autoclass is doing for their data in an automated manner. Cloud Storage customers can leverage two new Cloud metrics published for Autoclass: number of objects transitioned by Autoclass and number of bytes transitioned between classes by Autoclass.
Conclusion
Autoclass by Cloud Storage is a powerful feature that simplifies and automates the lifecycle management of data, based on last access time. It offers cost optimization by automatically moving data to the most suitable storage class, ensuring price predictability and removing inefficiencies. With Autoclass, IT administrators and organizations can achieve significant cost savings while maintaining control and predictability over their storage spend. Enable Autoclass on your Cloud Storage buckets and experience the benefits for yourself.
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