PowerScale OneFS Web Administration Guide

Object handling

An object consists of a file and optionally any metadata that describes that file. To store an object in S3, you upload the file that you want to store to a bucket. You can set permissions on the object and any metadata.

S3 stores data in the form of objects, which are key-value pairs. An object is identified using the key. The data is stored inside the object as a value. In OneFS, you use files to represent objects. An object key points out to a path name and an object value to the contents of the file.

An object can have associated metadata with size limits. There can be system metadata, which are generated for every object. Also, there can be user metadata that applications create for selected objects.

Objects reside within buckets. The life cycle and access of an object depends on the policies and ACLs enforced on the bucket. Also, each object can have its own ACLs.

An object key can have prefixes or delimiters, which are used to organize them efficiently.