Cloud File Storage Terminology

The documentation for Expedient Cloud File Storage will frequently reference terms relating to the platform, which may not be common knoweldge. This page will provide an overview for terminology for the CFS system and documentation.

Portal

The multi-tenancy construct which holds all metadata and configuration items for an Expedient Cloud File Storage deployment. This Portal is unique to you and hosted on a cluster of servers within multiple Expedient data centers. The Portal provides coordination for the Global File System which can be accessed via one or more vGateways.

vGateway

The virtual appliance which serves as the Edge for the Global File System, providing access to end points over industry standard protocols such as CIFS/SMB and NFS. Each vGateway has a unique set of resources (vCPU, vRAM, SSD Cache) enabling them to serve data at their Edge. The vGateway is registered to your unique Portal, providing access to the Global File System contained within. Frequently access data is cached locally providing quick access, while the persistent connection to the Portal provides access to the Global File System for less frequently accessed or to ingest new data.

Global File System (GFS)

The File System containing all of the data, which is maintained in your unique Portal. This is made up of an extensive set of metadata, serving as a 'single source of truth' for your File System. Each vGateway accesses this Global File System, enabling a single file system to be accessed from all vGateways deployed in your environment. The Global File System is responsible for ensuring that changes made on a vGateway are reflected across all vGateways in a deployment with the aid of the Portal infrastructure.

Storage Node

The S3 Object Store which is utilized to store the actual data loaded into the Global File System. This configuration is managed for you by Expedient staff, but leverages Expedient's Cloud Object Storage ensuring your data is stored in a highly available configuration across multiple Expedient data centers.