Cloud Storage & Databases
Object storage, block storage, and managed databases - and when to reach for each.
On this page5 sections
Not all cloud storage is the same shape. Picking the wrong one is a common - and expensive to fix later - early mistake.
Object storage
Think of object storage (the pattern popularized by Amazon S3) as a flat, practically-infinite bucket of files, each addressed by a key:
bucket-name/path/to/file.jpg
There's no real filesystem underneath - no directories you can cd into - just keys and the bytes behind them, served over HTTP. It's built for durability (your data is replicated across multiple drives and facilities automatically) and for serving large volumes of static files - images, backups, logs, data lake exports.
Block storage
Block storage behaves like a regular hard drive attached to a VM - you format it, mount it, and read/write files on it the normal Linux way. It's what backs a VM's root disk, and what you'd attach for a database that needs real, low-latency filesystem semantics - something object storage was never designed to provide.
Managed databases
Running your own database means you own the backups, the patching, the replication, the 3 AM page when disk fills up. A managed database service hands all of that operational weight to the provider - you get an endpoint to connect to, and they handle the rest.
The trade-off is control: you give up some low-level tuning in exchange for far less to operate. For most teams, that trade is an easy yes.
Picking the right one
| Need | Reach for |
|---|---|
| Millions of files, served over HTTP | Object storage |
| A disk for a VM or self-run database | Block storage |
| A relational or document database, with someone else on call for it | Managed database |
Try it
df -h
When you're ready, hit Mark complete and move to the next lesson.
Challenge
Check how much disk space is used and free on this machine, in human-readable units.
Want to experiment first? Try things in the practice terminal (opens in a new tab), then enter the command that solves the task here.
Quiz
Lock in the concepts. Score at least 80% to mark the lesson complete.
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