Storage
58 bites tagged Storage — interview questions with model answers, and 60-second explainers.
Block Storage Snapshots Are Incremental Backups
A snapshot is an incremental, point-in-time backup of a disk volume, saving only changed data blocks. Use it for disaster recovery to restore a volume's exact state. The footgun: deleting an older snapshot may not save money if a newer one needs its data.
Cloud Storage Tiers: Match Cost to Access Frequency
Storage tiers match data cost to access frequency. 'Hot' tiers are fast and expensive for active files; 'cold' tiers are cheap for archives. Use for data that cools over time, like logs. The footgun: retrieving cold data unexpectedly is slow and costly.
Data Durability vs. Availability: Lost vs. Unreachable
Availability is "can I reach my data right now?" while durability is "will my data still exist tomorrow?". Cloud storage systems are designed for both, but they solve different problems: network outages vs. data corruption.
Cloud File Storage: A Shared Drive on the Internet
Think of cloud file storage as a shared network drive, but managed by a provider and accessible over the internet. It's for shared content, user home directories, and apps needing a traditional file system.
Block Storage: Your Virtual Hard Drive in the Cloud
Think of block storage as a raw hard drive in the cloud. It's the foundation for virtual machine disks (like AWS EBS) and databases that need direct control over their storage. The footgun is treating it like a web-accessible file share; it's a raw device.
Object Storage: Data Without a File Hierarchy
Object storage is like a valet system for data. You get a unique ID for a self-contained 'blob' of data and metadata, instead of navigating a file path. It's the backbone of cloud storage (like S3) for images and backups. The footgun: objects are immutable.
EncryptedSharedPreferences: Secure Key-Value Storage on Android
EncryptedSharedPreferences is a drop-in replacement for SharedPreferences that automatically encrypts keys and values, protecting sensitive data at rest. Use it to store small, sensitive data like API tokens. The main footgun is mismanaging the master key.
Scoped Storage: Your App's Private File Cabinet
Scoped Storage gives your app a private file cabinet on external storage, not a key to the whole building. It's the default on modern Android for saving data or accessing media. The footgun: don't use direct file paths to shared files; you must use new.
App-Specific Storage: Your App's Private Locker
Think of app-specific storage as a private locker for your app's data, automatically cleaned up on uninstall. Use it for cache, settings, or internal data. The footgun: assuming this data is permanent—it's deleted when the user uninstalls.
Data Lake: Store Raw Data Now, Analyze It Later
A data lake is a central repository that holds vast amounts of raw data in its native format. This "store now, structure later" approach is ideal for machine learning on original, unfiltered source data.
Get Storage bites daily.
Five a day, five minutes, offline. With quizzes so it sticks.
Open testing — you’ll join as an early tester.