Prompt
I'm building a platform with VMs and containers that need the same files. What storage fits best?
Latest observation
If VMs and containers need to access the same files, the best fit is usually shared network-attached storage, especially a file storage service.
Best overall choice: NFS / SMB / managed file storage
Use a shared file system when you need:
- The same data visible to multiple VMs and containers
- Standard file semantics
- Easy mounting from different compute types
Common options
- NFS: Very common in Linux environments, simple and efficient
- SMB/CIFS: Better if Windows clients are involved
- Managed file services: e.g. AWS EFS, Azure Files, GCP Filestore
Why not block storage?
- Block storage is typically attached to a single VM at a time
- Great for OS disks or databases
- Not ideal for multiple independent systems sharing the same files
Why not object storage?
- Object storage is great for large, durable, cheap storage
- But it does not behave like a normal filesystem
- Usually not suitable when apps need POSIX-style shared file access
Rule of thumb
- Shared files across VMs and containers → File storage
- Single machine, high performance disk → Block storage
- Large unstructured data, backups, media, archives → Object storage
If you tell me whether your environment is Kubernetes, Docker, bare VMs, or hybrid cloud, I can recommend the most practical storage service and setup.
Observation history
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