Run High-Performance Workloads on the Public Cloud with Confidence
What is cloud block storage? Cloud block storage is a high-performance, network-delivered storage architecture that provides data volumes over a cloud infrastructure, often optimized by software-defined solutions like Lightbits LightOS to deliver local flash-level performance with the but with the efficiency and scalability of the public cloud.
What is block storage in the cloud? Block storage in the cloud is the virtualized equivalent of a physical SAN, providing persistent, raw data volumes that can be attached to cloud-based VMs or containers.
To meet cloud migration challenges, Lightbits delivers cloud block storage that is easy to provision and manage through the AWS or Azure Marketplace. Lightbits eliminates the performance and cost limitations associated with native cloud storage and provides the essential data services your cloud-native applications require. By clustering VMs connected by NVMe over TCP, Lightbits creates a high-performance “SAN in the cloud” to scale seamlessly and efficiently as application demands grow.
What workloads need cloud block storage?
- High transactional databases. Why is block storage important for databases? Block storage is critical for databases because it provides the high IOPS and ultra-low latency required for rapid transaction processing.
- Real-time analytics
- High-frequency trading platforms, real-time fraud detection, and transactional banking systems
- Cloud-Native Kubernetes
- CSPs and MSPs building on-premises clouds who need to provide high-performance storage to multiple tenants
What are the Main Benefits of Lightbits Cloud Block Storage?
Enterprise Data Services
Enterprise Data Services
Attach NVMe/TCP high-performance volumes to any virtual machine and enjoy the benefits of enterprise data services such as fast thin provisioning, snapshots, clones, dynamic volume resize, QoS, and compression.
Superior Performance (IOPS & Latency)
Superior Performance (IOPS & Latency)
Most cloud block storage has “latency tax” due to older protocols. Lightbits delivers sub-millisecond latency and up to 75M IOPS per cluster, which is significantly faster than native public cloud volumes.
Data Protection and High Availability
Data Protection and High Availability
Lightbits provides clustered high availability with 3-way synchronous replication. If a storage node or a drive fails, the system self-heals and reroutes data instantly with no service disruption. It also includes built-in compression and thin provisioning to maximize your physical disk space.
Easy to Provision and Manage
Easy to Provision and Manage
Deploy Lightbits on AWS or Azure in minutes and manage your data in the cloud the same it’s managed on-premises. Easily provision and attach your volumes to any Virtual Machine using API-driven architecture.
Disaggregated Scalability
Disaggregated Scalability
Traditional cloud storage often forces you to buy more Compute (CPU/RAM) just to get more storage capacity. Lightbits allows for true disaggregation, meaning you scale storage and compute independently. This eliminates stranded capacity and can lower TCO by up to 50%.
Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid Cloud
Port your per-server licenses between your on-premises storage servers and the AWS or Azure storage optimized virtual machines as you need. Migrate your workload to the Cloud at your pace and on your terms.
Enterprise Data Services
High Availability & Resiliency
Performance at Scale
Fastest Cloud Block Storage Available on AWS and Azure
Cloud Block Storage – Frequently Asked Questions
How does block storage differ from file storage and object storage?
Block storage is the high-performance engine under the hood of most mission-critical enterprise applications. Data is stripped into fixed-sized “blocks,” each with its own address but no metadata. Common protocols are iSCSI, FC, and NVMe over TCP. It’s best suited for mission-critical, high performance workloads such as real-time analytics, high-transaction applications, and AI workloads. Legacy systems can be expensive and require complex, specialized networking hardware. Not Lightbits block storage which removes complexity and is more cost-efficient using NVMe/TCP.
File storage organizes data into a hierarchical folder structure. Think of it like a traditional filing cabinet: to find a document, you need the path (Cabinet → Drawer → Folder → File). Common protocols include NFS or SMB. File storage is best suited for workloads where shared access to data is required. Common bottlenecks, as your data capacity grows, the filer becomes a bottleneck, leading to performance lag.
Object storage treats data as a discrete unit (an object) bundled with rich metadata and a unique identifier. It lives in a flat address space—no folders, just a massive bucket. It’s usually accessed via RESTful APIs (such as Amazon S3). It’s best suited for data lakes, cold backups and archives. Common bottlenecks are high latency, making it terrible for running high-performance database.
What is the difference between block and cloud storage?
The comparison between “block” and “cloud” storage is a bit like comparing “engines” to “cars.” One is a core technology, while the other is a delivery model or service. In modern data centers, cloud storage actually uses block storage to run high-performance workloads.
What is block storage in cloud computing?
In cloud computing, block storage provides raw, high-performance storage volumes to VMs or containers.
While hyperscalers, such as AWS and Azure have native block storage offerings, it often comes with a performance “tax”. Lightbits Labs takes the concept of cloud block storage and supercharges (i.e., higher performance, better cost-efficiency) it with a software-defined approach.
Superior Performing Cloud Block Storage for Half the Cost. Guaranteed.
Accelerate your cloud-first journey with our risk-free guarantee. Let us demonstrate the unique value and low total cost of ownership advantages that Lightbits high-performance block storage offers.