Storage

The retention of retrievable data on a computer or other electronic system.

Storage refers to the technologies and systems used to retain digital data for later retrieval. In cloud computing, storage services are categorized by their access patterns and data models: block storage (raw volumes attached to virtual machines), file storage (hierarchical file systems accessible over a network), and object storage (flat namespaces of key-addressable data objects).

Cloud storage services include Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2 for object storage, Amazon EBS and Azure Managed Disks for block storage, and Amazon EFS and Google Filestore for file storage. Databases (both relational and NoSQL) provide another form of structured data storage with query capabilities.

In API and serverless architectures, storage choice affects application design, performance, and cost. Serverless functions typically interact with managed storage services through APIs rather than local file systems. API gateways may use key-value storage (like Cloudflare KV) for caching responses, storing configuration data, or maintaining rate limit counters. Object storage is commonly used for file uploads, static assets, and log archives accessible through API endpoints.