UpCloud MaxIOPS (Block Storage) Review

UpCloud offers a variety of different services for their cloud servers, including block storage. Their MaxIOPS block storage plan is incredibly fast and very reliable. While it’s not necessary for everyone, if your project needs this type of storage, you should consider what this option has to offer. Our UpCloud MaxIOPS review looks at this plan and why you might need it.

File (NAS) vs. Block (SAN) vs. Object Cloud Storage

Pros

  • Flexible storage can easily be increased or decreased as needed.
  • Free 3-day trial.
  • You can move your block storage between UpCloud’s cloud servers quickly and easily.
  • Create automatic backups that activate as often as you need.
  • UpCloud supports both Windows and Linux.

Cons

  • You do have to have UpCloud cloud server hosting to use MaxIOPS
  • Pricing can quickly increase if you need a large amount of resources.
  • Block storage isn’t useful for every project and is not at all needed for basic web hosting.
  • You will need to have an understanding of how to manage and configure cloud servers and block storage.
  • The free trial is only for three days, which may not be long enough to determine if this is right for you.

UpCloud MaxIOPS review & analysis

Block storage can be incredibly useful for some projects. UpCloud makes it very simple to add this type of storage technology to your cloud servers, even going so far as to offer a free trial. In this review, we look at what MaxIOPS has to offer those who need block storage. The high points of MaxIOPS are certainly great, while the low points may not be low enough to send you to convince you to move to a competitor such as Digitalocean block storage.

Who This Hosting Plan is For

  • Projects that need a large amount of data storage.
  • Any cloud solution that needs flexibility.
  • Users who understand block storage and how to manage it

Who This Hosting Plan is Not For

  • Anyone looking for basic web hosting.
  • Small cloud projects or apps.
  • Beginners.
  • Projects that may need a large amount of storage or resources – UpCloud does become fairly expensive as more resources are added.

Bottom Line

Overall, UpCloud’s MaxIOPS block level storage can be ideal for a number of projects. However, if you have a strict budget and will need a large number of resources, you may need to look for alternatives. While the plan is flexible, it also quickly increases in price. It’s also a good idea to compare UpCloud’s cloud hosting to other options before signing up for an account since you will need that service to use MaxIOPS.

UpCloud Block Storage Hosting Features

  • Industry-leading performance
  • Incredibly flexible
  • Highly available
  • Easy to transfer between cloud servers
  • Amazing storage automation

Deployment and Management

  • Deploy in 45 seconds
  • Snapshots & scheduled backups
  • Control panel, developed in-house
  • Linux & Windows support
  • Server cloning
  • Simple but powerful API

Infrastructure and Networking

  • Faster-than-SSD with MaxIOPS
  • Control panel, developed in-house
  • Native IPv6 Support
  • Private networking across the globe
  • Latest Intel CPUs
  • InfiniBand networking

Compliance and Security

  • Two-factor authentication
  • Group accounts and server tags
  • Out-of-band HTML5 console
  • Firewall
  • Customer data

UpCloud Block Storage Hosting Prices

Hosting Plans
  • CPU
    CPU
  • Storage
    Storage
  • Transfer
    Transfer
1 GB Memory
$5 / month
  • CPU
    1
  • Storage
    25 GB
  • Transfer
    1 TB
4 GB Memory
$20 / month
  • CPU
    2
  • Storage
    80 GB
  • Transfer
    4 TB
16 GB Memory
$80 / month
  • CPU
    6
  • Storage
    320 GB
  • Transfer
    6 TB
48 GB Memory
$240 / month
  • CPU
    12
  • Storage
    960 GB
  • Transfer
    9 TB
64 GB Memory
$320 / month
  • CPU
    16
  • Storage
    1280 GB
  • Transfer
    10 TB
128 GB Memory
$640 / month
  • CPU
    20
  • Storage
    2048 GB
  • Transfer
    24 TB

What Is Block Storage?

Block storage is a way of saving data to the cloud. It’s faster, more reliable, and more efficient than how files are normally stored. Traditional storage methods store files congruently on a hard drive. The system saves all of the data in the file together on the same server. Block storage, on the other hand, splits files up into smaller blocks. It then stores each block of data in the most efficient location. Each of these blocks has a unique identifier that the server can use to put the file back together again when the user needs it.

By splitting files, the network can make use of hard drives spread across the entire cloud. The system can even store blocks of data on servers that use different operating systems. The system can also reach all of these blocks through different paths. That allows the data to be retrieved more quickly.

Block Storage vs Object Storage

Another question you may ask yourself other than what is block storage is how does block storage compare to object storage. Object storage also breaks files up, splitting them into objects instead of blocks. It then saves these objects to a repository. This repository is then spread out over multiple servers. Applications manage these objects, not the file system. Each of these objects has a unique identifier and stores metadata that allows apps to assemble the objects. This metadata is customizable and can include other information about the data. With block storage, that’s not possible.

When debating block storage vs object storage, the winner is determined by the data being saved. Block storage can’t save as much metadata. It’s also the better option for files that won’t often change. Object storage, on the other hand, may be better for files such as photographs. That’s because the files can save additional metadata such as the location where the photo was taken.

What Are Some Projects That May Need Block Level Storage?

There are many different projects that can make use of block level storage. Generally, this type of storage is useful for any project that will deal with large amounts of data and requires higher speeds. One such example is video conferencing or video streaming. Multiple users may need to view video files at once. Block storage then quickly retrieved the blocks that make up the video files. Because apps spread these blocks across multiple servers, the server load is spread out. With object storage, one server could be under a lot of stress if many users request files stored on that server at the same time 

Bitcoin processing is another project that can make good use of block storage. You can do this using a number of tools, including several WordPress plugins. Being able to spread out the load among different servers is very helpful for this type of application.

Other Block Storage Options

In addition to UpCloud, there are a number of other companies that offer block storage solution. Two of these are DigitalOcean and Linode. Linode block storage comes with a number of different features, including automated backups. Overall, it’s often considered a master of all trades, although it does fall short in some key areas. UpCloud has faster servers because their hardware is newer. Then there’s DigitalOcean. They’re not as strong in security, but they do have several other features. You can quickly add new servers to your cloud, and they make a number of tasks easier. Which one is right for you? That depends on your needs. Take a look at everything offered in the UpCloud MaxIOPS plan and compare it to what Linode and DigitalOcean offer.

Review UpCloud MaxIOPS (Block Storage) Review.

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