Item: IBM Cloud Object Storage
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

In the university we do not have organizational subscription to IBM Cloud Object Storage. Instead, we subscribe to it individually and it is paid by research funds. Thus, each researcher can customize their object storage based on their need.

My research simulates the parts of the brain and as a whole those parts act like a brain. Each simulated part is defined as an object on the cloud service and works together.

IBM's Cloud Object Storage allows me to use powerful devices working simultaneously to achieve my simulation goals.

Pros and Cons

Resilient storage.
Powerful infrastructure.
Customizable service.
Scalable infrastructure based on my needs.
Cluster working scheme on various locations.
Quick responding support desk.

Confusing user interface for beginners.
Inadequate tutorials on the web related to IBM COS.

Return on Investment

I spent money from my research funding, therefore I will not earn any money. But I will contribute unique outputs to academia.

IBM Cloud Object Storage Built-in SQL Query

As Spark SQL allows me to process data frames via Python, I can quickly do data reading and writing in various structured formats. Huge amounts of data from EEG become easier to compute thanks to Spark's big data query function with SQL. At least, it perfectly fits to my research project.

IBM Cloud Object Storage Data Transfer

To be honest, this network and connection field is not my expertise. IT team of the university helped to setup and connect to backbone of IBM's cloud.

IBM Cloud Object Storage Flexible Storage Tiers

I am aware that IBM offers 4 different options on storage classes (vaults). Based on my research, I chose active and cool tiers for my needs.

Cool vault storage is tailored for my backups. Instead of cold vault, I chose cool vault due to my active usage of data from my backup. After I finish working on something, simultaneously my backup is uploaded to cool vault.
Active vault serves my simulation objects as storage changes instantly and continuously based on the processed data from brain parts (objects).

Alternatives Considered

I have not tried others. All my senior colleagues recommend IBM's service.

Likelihood to Recommend

IBM COS was recommended to me by my colleague from the university when I was in need of a cluster of computers. Until now it has worked perfectly, and I am glad to know about COS. I can securely store my research data while I process them with the power of machines brought together by cloud infrastructure. Also, its monitoring dashboard is really fruitful. I can follow and define where there is a bottleneck on my code. Thus, I can optimize my app based on these logs.

I recommend it to my colleagues who need powerful and robust computing infrastructure. Apart from computational power, it serves well as a backup point.

Powerful computing from IBM

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cloud Object Storage