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Object Storage Service:Description

Last Updated:Aug 30, 2024

Object Storage Service (OSS) is a secure, cost-effective, and highly reliable services provided by Alibaba Cloud to store large amounts of data. You can call RESTful APIs over the Internet on devices to upload data to and download data from OSS anytime and anywhere. OSS enables you to develop a variety of services that are capable of processing large amounts of data. These services include multimedia sharing websites, online storage, and personal and corporate data backups.

Limits

OSS imposes limits on the resources and features that you use. For more information, see Limits.

Usage notes

OSS API Reference describes the request syntax, parameters, sample requests, and sample responses. If you want to perform additional development, we recommend that you use OSS SDKs. For more information about the installation and usage of OSS SDKs, see Overview.

Pricing

For more information about OSS pricing, see Object Storage Service Pricing.

Terms

Bucket

The container that is used to store objects in OSS. Every object is contained in a bucket.

Object

The fundamental entities that are stored in OSS. Objects are also known as files. An object consists of object metadata, object data, and an object key. The key of an object is unique and identifies the object in a bucket.

Region

The physical location of OSS resources. You can select a region for data storage based on costs and request sources. For more information, see Regions and endpoints.

Endpoint

The domain name used to access OSS. OSS provides external services by using HTTP-based RESTful APIs. Different regions use different endpoints. For the same region, access over the internal network and access over the Internet also use different endpoints. For more information, see Regions and endpoints.

AccessKey

An AccessKey pair consists of an AccessKey ID and an AccessKey secret. The AccessKey pair is used to authenticate a requester. OSS uses an AccessKey pair, which includes an AccessKey ID and an AccessKey secret, to implement symmetric encryption and verify the identity of a requester. The AccessKey ID is used to verify the identity of the user, whereas the AccessKey secret is used to encrypt and verify the signature string. You must keep your AccessKey secret strictly confidential.