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Cloud Files
- Built with OpenStack technology, with content delivery over the Akamai CDN
- Highly scalable, redundant online storage with no long-term contracts
- RESTful API, enabling developer access
On-demand storage, plus blazing-fast delivery
With Cloud Files™ powered by OpenStack®, you have access to unlimited, on-demand storage for your files and media. And we can deliver this data worldwide, at blazing speeds, over Akamai’s content delivery network (CDN)—giving your audience a fast, local-like experience.
Best of all, with pay-as-you-grow pricing, you’ll only pay for the amount of storage and outgoing bandwidth you actually use. So you control your bottom line.
So, whether your storage needs are modest or monumental, you’ll get exactly what you need. Plus built-in redundancy, an easy-to-use control panel and of course, Fanatical Support®.
Store and upload unlimited files and media using our online control panel or third-party desktop software, or upload programmatically via the API. And when you’re on the go, you can manage your Cloud Files via your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod Touch® or Android™ device.
With Cloud Files, there’s nothing to buy and no up-front costs. Just pay for the storage space and outgoing bandwidth you actually use.
.For each container you create, you can designate whether the files should be marked as private or public.
What makes it great
Pricing
View the prices table below, or use our calculator to get the cost of your solution. Calculate now.
Pay-as-you-grow, starting at 7p per GB per month
With Cloud Files, there are no upfront costs, no contracts, and no hidden costs. You get the exact amount of storage you need, on demand, and you only pay for the storage and outgoing bandwidth you actually use.
| Cloud Files Pricing | |
|---|---|
| Amount | Price per GB/month |
| First 1TB | £0.07 |
| Next 49TB | £0.065 |
| Next 150TB | £0.06 |
| Next 300TB | £0.055 |
| Next 524TB | £0.052 |
| Over 1024TB | Please contact Rackspace |
| Cloud Files CDN Bandwidth Usage | |
|---|---|
| Amount | Price per GB |
| First 10TB | £0.08 |
| Next 40TB | £0.07 |
| Next 150TB | £0.05 |
| Next 300TB | £0.04 |
| Next 524TB | £0.03 |
| Over 1024TB | Please contact Rackspace |
| Outgoing bandwidth without CDN is £0.08p/GB for all usage levels | |
| Usage | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Incoming Bandwidth | Free |
| PUT, POST, LIST Requests | Free |
| HEAD, GET, DELETE Requests | Free |
Support includes:
- Chat/phone/ticket support available to you 24x7x365
- Basic guidance with choosing API calls, based on your needs
- Authentication troubleshooting and verification
- Basic guidance for setting up and managing Cloud Files via the Control Panel
- Verification of Cloud Files infrastructure availability
- Documentation available via our Knowledge Centre
Cloud Files SLA
We know how important access to your data is, so our SLA is focused on guaranteeing the availability of the Cloud Files service. If we fail to meet this guarantee, you will be eligible to receive a credit to your account. View the full Cloud Files SLA.
Help with common support issues:
- Cloud Files activation
- Handling large file uploads
- Using Cloud Files with Cloud Servers
- Cloud Files Control Panel functionality
- Desktop integration to Cloud Files
Rackspace Knowledge Centre
At the Rackspace Knowledge Centre, you'll find instructional videos, "how-to" articles, webinars, and case studies to help you implement and troubleshoot Cloud Files. You can also learn about web technologies and security, and how to maximise the potential of the cloud. With an active customer community, comments and feedback provide a real-world perspective on cutting edge topics. Join the community now and ramp up your cloud expertise.
How Cloud Files works
Using a Content Delivery Network
Rackspace Cloud Files and the Akamai content delivery network (CDN) can deliver your content to your audience significantly faster than traditional delivery methods.
CDNs work by caching (i.e., storing) content at edge locations around the globe, so that your website visitors can access your content from a server geographically closer to where they are, instead of waiting for that data to come from the origin servers located in Dallas, Chicago, or London.
Working with an Industry Leader
Rackspace partnered with Akamai because they are a leader in their industry, with a robust network and strong feature set. Static content served from Cloud Files is dramatically accelerated using their Dynamic Site Delivery, HTTP Streaming Delivery and Secure Delivery tools. Additional features of Cloud Files with Akamai CDN include:
| Features | Benefits |
|---|---|
| CNAMEs | CNAMEs allow you to take your CDN URLs, which are usually a long mix of letters and numbers, and turn them into shorter branded URLs. With CNAMEs, your website can be fully branded exactly how you want it. |
| SSL | SSL (secure socket layer) adds more security to your content delivery. Objects are encrypted as they travel from the browser to the origin server. |
| Edge Purge | With Edge Purge, you can set your content to expire on the edge server before the object's time to live (TTL) has expired. This protects you from having outdated content cached on the edge for longer than you intended. |
| HTTP Compression | HTTP compression takes files that are not already compressed, like text files, and compresses them before sending them across the internet. This means your data objects may be smaller (which translates into lower bandwidth fees) and have faster overall responses times. |
| Streaming | HTTP Streaming reduces video start time and enables random seek by streaming video directly from the server instead of downloading. Serve videos via plugins for JW Player, FlowPlayer, and OSMF, or natively on iOS devices. |
Interface options
API
Looking for backend storage for your company's intranet or for your next big application idea? You can interface directly with the Rackspace Cloud Files API.Control Panel
If you don't want to worry about API calls, Rackspace has you covered with a Cloud Control Panel for all your Cloud Files management needs. And if you’re using RackConnect to combine dedicated and cloud hosting, you can also use the MyRackspace customer portal for Cloud Files management.3rd party tools
Be sure to check out the Cloud Files management tools that other companies have built, to get even more out of Cloud Files. Our 3rd Party Tools and Cloud Tools Partner pages can help you find the solution that's right for you.iPhone, iPad, and Android
You're mobile—make sure your data is too. Manage your Cloud Files on the go with the Rackspace Cloud App for iPhone® and iPad® or Android™.
The API
Programmatic Access via API
The Cloud Files API is standards-based, enabling you to directly control your Cloud Files storage from within your existing applications. Our API is a RESTful API, with support for all major bindings listed here.
API Features
- Enable your application to upload files programmatically
- Enable Cloud Files CDN integration on any container for public distribution
- Create public or private containers programmatically
- Retrieve lists of containers and files
API Operations for Storage and CDN Services
Storage Account Services
List Containers
Retrieve Account Metadata
Storage Container Services
List Objects
Create Container
Delete Container
Retrieve Container Metadata
Storage Object Services
Retrieve Object
Create/Update Object
Copy Object
Delete Object
Retrieve Object Metadata
Update Object Metadata
CDN Account Operations
List CDN-Enabled Containers
CDN Container Services
CDN-Enabled Container
List CDN-Enabled Container Metadata
Purge CDN-Enabled Containers or Objects
Update CDN-Enabled Container Metadata
CDN-Enabled Containers Served via SSL
Powered by the Cloud Files API
Compare
Content Delivery Network
Cloud Files
Rackspace has partnered with the market leader, Akamai Technologies, Inc., because it claims the most pervasive, highly distributed CDN platform anywhere—with over 84,000 servers in 72 countries, within nearly 1,000 networks. See the How It Works tab for more details.Amazon S3
Amazon built their own Content Distribution Network, which advertises 32 edge locations around the globe.Support
Cloud Files
We want to make sure you enjoy the best possible experience every day that you’re with us. We’re ready to do whatever it takes to serve you and your business.
- 24x7x365 chat/phone/ticket support
- Access to the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel, giving you the control you need, at your fingertips
- 100% Network Uptime Guarantee
- Industry-leading SLAs
- 100% HVAC/Power Uptime Guarantee
- Access to our Knowledge Centre, online resources, and more
Amazon S3
To receive 24x7x365 support for Amazon S3, you pay the greater of $400 per month or 10% (scaling down) of your S3 costs. That means your support cost goes up with your S3 usage and isn't directly related to the amount of support you use.Pricing
Cloud Files
CDN is included in the price of Cloud Files—so you incur no additional CDN costs. Also, you don't get charged for file transfers between Cloud Files and CDN locations. Location of data does not affect pricing.
Amazon S3
The cost of Amazon's CDN service (CloudFront) is added to the cost of S3 and varies by location. Customers are charged for "origin fetches"—data transferred from Amazon S3 or Amazon EC2 to edge locations.Hybrid Hosting
Cloud Files
Sometimes the best hosting configuration for your business will be a combination of cloud and dedicated hosting. At Rackspace, you can have both, and you can manage them from a centralised login, with RackConnect™. It’s a best-of-both-worlds solution for many businesses.
Amazon S3
Amazon only offers part of the answer, with only cloud solutions. Amazon VPC is a beta service offering to connect a company's infrastructure to Amazon's cloud; however, Amazon does not offer hosting on dedicated/managed servers.Open Philosophy
Cloud Files
In 2010, Rackspace became a founding member of OpenStack. OpenStack is an open source, collaborative software project that benefits from contributions by hundreds of developers in the cloud computing space. The mission of the OpenStack community is to create the ubiquitous open source cloud computing platform. It was launched with contributions from Rackspace and the NASA Nebula cloud platform.
The Cloud Files development team created and contributed the underlying source code that has become OpenStack Object Storage software. This technology currently powers Cloud Files.
Amazon S3
Amazon’s technology is proprietary and they have not embraced an open-source approach for cloud interoperability.Cost
Cloud Files
Cloud Files provides you with a simple, per-GB monthly rate. Other providers often charge you request fees, which are unpredictable and inconsistent. Rackspace provides simple pricing for storage and bandwidth.
In-house Storage
Many companies believe that they can buy an in-house storage solution and not incur additional costs.
However, administrators should expect to pay for software updates, additional infrastructure as storage needs grow, and personnel costs for managing the infrastructure.
Utility
Cloud Files
As your storage needs grow, we'll only charge you for what you use. No large purchases upfront. If your storage needs are less than you thought, you don’t waste money on unused storage infrastructure.
In-house Storage
Making large upfront storage investments often doesn't pay off until it's time to make another purchase. Are you paying to power and secure empty space on your in-house storage servers?
Business Agility
Cloud Files
Cloud storage resources allow your company's storage to grow as much and as quickly as you need. You shouldn't have to plan for every sale, news article, or TV appearance that drives traffic to your website or application. Cloud storage gives your business the agility it needs.
In-house Storage
Spinning up new storage servers in times of heavy load can take days or even weeks if you don't already have them in your supply room. If you only have hours before your existing storage becomes full, how quickly can you spin up new storage?
What is Cloud Files?
Cloud Files is an easy, cost-effective way to store files and media online. Simply upload your files to Cloud Files—via a RESTful API, the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel, the MyRackspace portal, or a variety of other methods—and indicate whether they should be stored in a private or public container. You can deliver your media and files to a global audience at blazing speeds through the Akamai CDN, which is seamlessly integrated into the Cloud Files service.
With Cloud Files, you pay for what you use—and how much you use is up to you. This means you’ll never have to worry about overbuying, underutilising, or running out of storage space.
Where is the infrastructure located for Cloud Files?
The Cloud Files infrastructure is located in Dallas, Chicago, and London. Our global footprint means that you can put your cloud where your customers are—and serve them at top speeds via the Akamai CDN.
Who can use Cloud Files?
Developers/customers can access Cloud Files via the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel, the MyRackspace customer portal, third-party tools, or with any of the following: RESTful web services, Python, PHP, Java, Ruby, or C#/.NET. Our customers come from a variety of industries, including web development/design, IT services, e-commerce, consulting, and software. Most commonly, customers use Cloud Files for rich media, social media, e-commerce, and test/development sites.
Is Cloud Files a great fit for most applications?
Cloud Files is a great storage solution for a variety of applications, including:
- Backups/archives of your data
- Serving images/videos (streaming data to the user's browser)
- Secondary/tertiary, web-accessible storage for your data
- Developer-friendly cloud storage for application integration
There are some applications for which Cloud Files is not an ideal solution. These include:
- Native support within your Operating System. It is not possible to "mount" or "map" the Cloud Files storage system as a virtual hard disk on your computer.
- Disk mirroring or backup solutions that require byte/block-level differences. There are no concepts of "append," "file locking" or "deduplication" operations within Cloud Files.
- Data can be organised into storage compartments called "Containers," but they cannot be nested. Since there is only one top-level of Containers, you will not be able to upload a nested directory/folder structure into Cloud Files unless you flatten the structure.
How large can my objects be in Cloud Files?
You can have virtually unlimited file sizes in Cloud Files when you use our Large File Support. This allows you to upload as many file chunks as you wish, and map them together using a manifest file. Each file chunk can be up to 5GB.
Does Cloud Files use OpenStack™?
Yes, the Cloud Files development team created and contributed the underlying source code that has become OpenStack Object Storage software. This is the underlying software currently powering Cloud Files. Learn more about OpenStack.
How much does Cloud Files cost to use?
Please see the 'Pricing' tab. Pricing for Cloud Files is broken down according to storage usage, data transfer, and requests.
Is there an SLA specific to Cloud Files?
Yes, there is a Cloud Files SLA guaranteeing that the Cloud Files service will be available 99.9% of the time in a given billing cycle. Read the Cloud Files SLA.
What is RackConnect™?
Sometimes the best hosting solution involves both dedicated and cloud-based infrastructure. With RackConnect, you can run both on the same network, and manage them from a centralised login. This is ideal when you need the security and performance of dedicated hosting, with the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. Rackspace makes it all work together seamlessly. Find out more about RackConnect.
What CDN services from Akamai are available with Cloud Files?
Cloud Files has incorporated Akamai's Dynamic Site Delivery, HTTP Streaming Delivery, and SSL Delivery services, bringing you speedy delivery of your cloud storage objects. You can also click the How It Works tab to learn about other Akamai products to accelerate your Rackspace hosted services.
Does Cloud Files have CNAME support?
Yes, simply manage your CNAME records from your DNS tool, and we'll take care of the rest. No need for an API, control panel, or phone call. Your records are under your control. Find more details in our Knowledge Centre.
How does HTTP compression work over the content delivery network?
HTTP compression takes files that are not already compressed, like text files, and compresses them before sending them across the internet. This increases your speed and decreases your bandwidth fees. File types that can be compressed by the CDN are HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Click here the How It Works tab for information.
How much extra does it cost to CDN-enable my files and media? How does that compare to traditional CDN providers’ billing models?
If you want to CDN-enable files and media, there are no additional fees. The bandwidth (out) charges for CDN-enabled files are the same as files that are not CDN-enabled. View the Pricing tab for more info.
In contrast, many CDN providers may charge for a number of usage points including ingress, midgress, and egress. Ingress is the traffic from your origin server to the CDN. Midgress is the traffic within your CDN's network. Egress is the traffic from the edge locations to the end user. Rackspace only charges Cloud Files customers for egress—the traffic from the edge to the user.
How big is the Akamai network?
Akamai claims one of the largest networks in the industry, with more than 95,000 servers in 71 countries, across 1900+ networks. The more points of presence, or edge locations, the closer you get to your users. View the most up-to-date Akamai stats.
What if I need to delete my content from the edge?
Rackspace provides customers with a feature called Edge Purge. With Edge Purge, you can delete your content at the edge before the TTL has expired—helping to prevent your outdated information from persisting on the edge. Read more in the Cloud Files Developer Guide.
Do you support the SSL delivery of content over the CDN?
Yes, Rackspace supports SSL delivery (or https), which encrypts your data in transit as it goes through the CDN. Your content remains encrypted all the way from the origin servers out to the browser. You can choose to serve your content over SSL on a per-object basis simply by using your SSL URL instead of your traditional CDN URL. Read more about serving your content over SSL per object in the How It Works tab.
If I enable CDN on the files or media that I'm storing on Cloud Files, will my end-users see a much faster response time?
In most cases, CDN-enabled content is delivered much faster than non-CDN-enabled content. Of course, there are a number of variables (such as region, file size, etc.) that impact overall response times. In tests, we’ve observed that response times were up to 38% faster with CDN-enabled content.
Do I have to commit to using the CDN for a period of time?
No, Rackspace Cloud Files and CDN require no long-term contracts or minimum usage. Just sign up, pay as you go, and use the services you need when you need them. It's that simple.
How is Cloud Files different from Rackspace Cloud Drive or Rackspace Server Backup?
Rackspace Cloud Drive and Rackspace Server Backup are easy-to-use desktop applications that are built on the Cloud Files infrastructure. Both provide cloud-based data storage.
Rackspace Cloud Drive is ideal for businesses that need file sharing, file storage, and desktop backup and synchronisation capabilities, without the hassles of managing a file server. Users can map one or many Cloud Drive locations, schedule automatic backups, share files, and even access files via their smart phone.
Rackspace Server Backup is an intuitive, easy-to-use software and online storage system that allows businesses with Windows® or Linux® servers to back up, protect, and manage data online. This helps to safeguard your file systems, because your server is always backed up—making data recovery a breeze.
Both Cloud Drive and Server Backup are currently only available in the US, but will be coming to the Rackspace UK Cloud later this year.
Learn more about Rackspace Cloud Drive and Rackspace Server Backup.
Cloud Files vs. Cloud Drive/Server Backup Comparison Guide
| Usage / Need | What to Choose | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| I have a website or application that serves lots of images and videos | Cloud Files | Akamai CDN integration |
| I need a developer friendly cloud storage solution for application integration | Cloud Files | API access |
| I want to serve my content globally via CDN | Cloud Files | Akamai CDN integration |
| I want a folder structure for my files | Cloud Drive | Nested folder support |
| I want to interact with my cloud storage just like my local storage | Cloud Drive | Map network drive |
| I want to share my files with my team members via shared cloud storage | Cloud Drive | Read/write permissions drive |
| I want to schedule automated backups my from desktop to the cloud | Cloud Drive | Scheduled backups |
| I want to backup my photos and video from my iPhone® or iPod touch® | Cloud Drive | Free iTunes® app |
| I want to backup, protect and manage data online for my Windows® or Linux® based servers | Cloud Drive | Optimised for file systems |
