Ceph RADOS Gateway (RGW) is a component of the Ceph distributed storage system that provides object storage interfaces compatible with Amazon S3 and OpenStack Swift. It allows users to store and retrieve unstructured data in a scalable and fault-tolerant manner. Here are some key features and aspects of Ceph RADOS Gateway:
Object Storage: RGW enables object storage, which is ideal for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as images, videos, backups, and logs. It allows users to manage data as objects rather than files or blocks.
S3 and Swift Compatibility: RGW provides APIs that are compatible with Amazon S3 and OpenStack Swift, making it easier for applications designed for these platforms to interact with Ceph. This compatibility allows users to leverage existing tools and libraries that work with S3 and Swift.
Multi-Tenancy: RGW supports multi-tenancy, allowing multiple users or applications to share the same Ceph cluster while maintaining isolation and security. Each tenant can have its own set of buckets and objects.
Scalability: Ceph is designed to scale horizontally, and RGW inherits this capability. Users can add more storage nodes to the Ceph cluster to increase capacity and performance without downtime.
Data Durability and Availability: RGW benefits from Ceph's underlying architecture, which provides data replication and erasure coding. This ensures high durability and availability of stored objects, even in the event of hardware failures.
Access Control: RGW includes features for managing access control, such as user authentication and authorization. It supports various authentication methods, including AWS Signature Version 4, which is used by S3.
Bucket and Object Management: Users can create and manage buckets (containers for objects) and perform operations such as uploading, downloading, deleting, and listing objects. RGW also supports features like versioning and lifecycle management.
Integration with Other Ceph Components: RGW integrates seamlessly with other components of the Ceph ecosystem, such as Ceph Monitor and Ceph OSD (Object Storage Daemon), to provide a cohesive storage solution.
Performance: RGW is designed to handle a large number of concurrent requests, making it suitable for applications with high throughput and low latency requirements.
Monitoring and Management: Ceph provides tools for monitoring and managing the RGW service, allowing administrators to track performance metrics, usage statistics, and health status.
Overall, Ceph RADOS Gateway is a powerful solution for organizations looking to implement scalable and reliable object storage, especially in cloud-native environments or for applications that require S3 or Swift compatibility.