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  • Cloud Core Infrastructure User Guide
  • How to use this guide
    • Assumptions
    • Alternatives and additional information
    • Contact us
    • Document history
    • Disclaimer
  • Introducing the Rackspace cloud
    • Rackspace cloud core infrastructure at a glance
    • The managed cloud in context
    • Touring the Rackspace cloud, service by service
      • Compute services
        • Cloud Servers at a glance
        • Cloud Images at a glance
      • Network services
        • Cloud Networks at a glance
        • Cloud DNS at a glance
        • Cloud Load Balancers at a glance
        • RackConnect at a glance
      • Storage and content delivery services
        • Cloud Block Storage at a glance
        • Cloud Backup at a glance
        • Rackspace CDN at a glance
        • Cloud Files at a glance
      • Data services
        • Cloud Big Data at a glance
        • Cloud Databases at a glance
        • Object Rocket at a glance
      • Application services
        • Auto Scale at a glance
        • Rackspace Metrics at a glance
        • Cloud Monitoring at a glance
        • Cloud Orchestration at a glance
        • Rackspace Intelligence
      • Security and supporting services
        • Cloud Feeds at a glance
        • Identity at a glance
    • Customer stories
  • Interacting with the cloud
    • GUI: Rackspace Cloud Control Panel
      • Preparing to use the Cloud Control Panel
      • Cloud Servers and the Cloud Control Panel
      • Cloud Networks and the Cloud Control Panel
      • Cloud Images and the Cloud Control Panel
      • Cloud Block Storage and the Cloud Control Panel
      • Cloud Files and the Cloud Control Panel
        • Create a Container
        • Upload Files to the Container
      • Learning more about the Cloud Control Panel
    • CLI: Command-line interfaces and tools
      • Preparing to use a CLI
      • Cloud Servers and CLIs: rack, nova, and supernova
        • Rackspace CLI
        • nova CLI
        • supernova CLI
        • cURL CLI
      • Cloud Networks and CLIs: neutron
        • neutron CLI
      • Cloud Images and CLIs: glance
        • glance CLI
      • Cloud Block Storage and CLIs: cinder
        • cinder CLI
      • Cloud Files and CLIs: swift and swiftly
        • swift CLI
        • swiftly CLI
      • Learning more about CLIs
    • API: Developer and DevOps tools
      • DevOps tools
      • Direct API access
      • Preparing to use APIs
      • Cloud Servers and APIs
        • Cloud Servers API investigation
        • Cloud Servers API demonstration
          • Learn about Cloud Servers in the Cloud Control Panel
          • Learn about Cloud Servers in API documentation
      • Cloud Networks and APIs
        • Cloud Networks API investigation
        • Cloud Networks API demonstration
          • Learn about Cloud Networks in the Cloud Control Panel
          • Learn about Cloud Networks in API documentation
      • Cloud Images and APIs
        • Cloud Images API investigation
        • Cloud Images API demonstration
          • Learn about Cloud Images in the Cloud Control Panel
          • Learn about Cloud Images in API documentation
      • Cloud Block Storage and APIs
        • Cloud Block Storage API investigation
        • Cloud Block Storage API demonstration
          • Learn about Cloud Block Storage in the Cloud Control Panel
          • Learn about Cloud Block Storage in API documentation
      • Cloud Files and APIs
        • Cloud Files API Investigation
        • Cloud Files API demonstration
          • Learn about Cloud Files in the Cloud Control Panel
          • Learn about Cloud Files in API documentation
      • Learning more about APIs
  • Establishing your cloud configuration
    • Core infrastructure in the Compute category
      • Understanding Cloud Servers
        • Virtual cloud servers
        • OnMetal™ cloud servers
          • Using flavors to create a new cloud server
            • Flavor ID
            • Flavor description
            • Flavor memory
            • Flavor disk / system disk
            • Ephemeral / data disk
            • Swap
            • vCPUs
            • RXTX factor
          • Changing the characteristics of a cloud server
          • Understanding flavor classes
            • Flavor classes for virtual cloud servers
            • Flavor classes for OnMetal cloud servers
            • Checking for regional availability of flavor classes
            • Choosing a flavor class
              • Web servers and other horizontally scaling application tiers
              • Database servers
          • Creating a cloud server in a region
          • Describing a cloud server with metadata
            • Showing metadata
            • Setting and updating metadata
          • Controlling cloud server initiation
            • Controlling boot behavior with a config drive
            • Controlling boot behavior with personality
            • Controlling boot behavior with cloud-init
          • Operating a cloud server with nova-agent
          • Managing access with SSH keys
          • Configuring disks for a cloud server
            • Persistent and ephemeral disks
            • Presentation of disks to the operating system
            • Manual and automated disk configuration
          • Handling host-related issues
          • Synchronizing time with NTP
          • Monitoring events on your cloud server
      • Actions for Cloud Servers
        • Rebuild
        • Resize
        • Rescue
        • Reboot
        • Console
        • Delete
      • Understanding Cloud Images
        • Image properties
        • Data immutability
        • Creating cloud servers from base images
          • Default base image configurations
          • Base images life cycle
          • Patching base images
        • Sharing images
          • Image-sharing roles
          • Models of sharing images
            • 1-to-1 sharing
            • Handshaking
          • Planning to share or use shared images
            • Security and legal considerations for shared images
            • Financial considerations for shared images
            • Regional considerations for shared images
          • Preparing to share images
          • Managing shared images
            • Offering to share an image
            • Removing members from a shared image
          • Getting support for shared images
        • Importing and exporting images
          • Exporting an image
          • Importing an image
          • Export-import asymmetry
        • On-demand images
        • Scheduled images
        • Creating custom images from servers
      • Actions for Cloud Images
        • Create an image backup
        • Update an image
        • Create an image member
    • Core infrastructure in the Network category
      • Understanding Cloud Networks
        • Typical use cases for Cloud Networks
        • Customer benefits from Cloud Networks
        • Gateway Instances in Rackspace Cloud
        • Creating a Gateway Instance in Rackspace Cloud
        • Building Servers Behind Your Gateway Instance
        • Accessing Servers Behind Your Gateway Instance
        • Networking considerations for cloud servers
          • IP addressing on Cloud Networks
          • Communicating securely between Rackspace Cloud Servers
          • You cannot NAT by using ServiceNet
          • Additional Cloud Networks limits and features
          • Throughput in Rackspace Cloud
        • Working with networked Cloud Servers
          • Network limits
          • Practical throughput example
          • Attaching or detaching networks from a server
          • Programming additional network config into your Cloud Network
          • Adding public IPv4 addresses to Cloud Servers
          • Rackspace Cloud, IP addressing, netranges, and gateways
        • Networking considerations for OnMetal servers
        • Networking considerations for RackConnect
        • PublicNet in the cloud
        • ServiceNet in the cloud
        • Building servers without PublicNet or ServiceNet
        • How to manually set up Internet access for servers without PublicNet
        • DNS in the cloud
          • Forward DNS
          • Reverse DNS
            • Reverse DNS importance with hosted mail servers
            • Creating a reverse DNS record for your cloud server
            • Troubleshooting your reverse DNS record
        • Security groups
      • Actions for Cloud Networks
        • Network actions
        • Subnet actions
        • Port actions
        • Security group actions
    • Core infrastructure in the Storage category
      • Understanding Cloud Block Storage
        • System and data disks for cloud servers
          • System disk
          • Data disks
        • Local storage for cloud servers
          • Local storage technologies and terminology
          • Measuring local storage performance: IOPS
          • Local storage types associated with Cloud Servers flavors
            • SATA local storage
            • SSD local storage
          • Local storage types associated with OnMetal flavors
        • Block storage for cloud servers
          • Cloud Block Storage for OnMetal servers
        • Backup methods
          • Backup method: snapshots
          • Backup method: Cloud Backup
          • Backup method: Cloud Block Storage
          • Backup methods: custom
      • Actions for Cloud Block Storage
        • Create a volume
        • Attach a volume to a cloud server
        • Detach a volume from a cloud server
        • Create a snapshot of a volume
        • Create a volume from a snapshot
        • Delete a snapshot of a volume
        • Clone a volume
        • Delete a volume
      • Understanding Cloud Files
        • Ideal uses for Cloud Files
        • Object storage
        • Web acceleration
          • Container management
            • Using multiple containers
            • Labeling containers
            • Keeping a local database of container structure
          • Pathing
        • Cloud Files tools
      • Actions for Cloud Files
        • Create a Container
        • Delete a Container
        • Create or Update an Object
        • Copy an Object
        • Delete an Object
  • Preparing for productivity
    • Tightening security
    • Validating SSH configuration
    • Installing a software stack
    • Establishing backups
    • Observing activity
    • Automating growth
  • Succeeding in the cloud
    • Managing your Rackspace account
      • Managing role-based access to services
      • Managing expenses by limiting workload
        • Absolute limits
        • Rate limits
        • Limits for specific services
    • Best practices in the cloud
      • Best practices for orchestration
      • Best practices for security
      • Best practices for storage
      • Best practices for networking
    • Troubleshooting in the cloud
      • Troubleshooting connectivity
      • Troubleshooting server builds
    • Getting support
    • Trying something new
    • Keeping up with change

Understanding Cloud Files¶

The Rackspace Cloud Files storage system provides a secure, network-accessible way to store an unlimited number of files. Each file can be as large as 5 gigabytes.

You can store as many files as you want and only pay for the storage space you actually use.

Cloud Files also provides a simple yet powerful way to publish and distribute content behind a content delivery network (CDN). As a Cloud Files user, you get access to this network automatically.

Cloud Files enables you to store and retrieve files and CDN-enabled content through a RESTful (Representational State Transfer) web services interface. There are also language-specific APIs that use the RESTful API and make it easy for integration into your applications.

The process for distributing content over the CDN is straightforward: authenticate, create a container, upload objects, mark the container as public, and begin serving that content from a powerful CDN.

The process for distributing content over the CDN is straightforward: authenticate, create a container, upload objects, mark the container as public, and begin serving that content from a powerful CDN.

See also

  • Object storage
  • Web acceleration
  • Ideal uses for Cloud Files
  • Cloud Files tools

Understanding Cloud Files introduces key ideas. To learn how to put these ideas to work, start at Actions for Cloud Files.

Previous Actions for Cloud Block Storage
Next Ideal uses for Cloud Files
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