Understanding Cloud-Based Data Storage

Cloud-based data storage is the next step in the evolution of network-attached storage devices. Across the web (the cloud), many providers offer data storage that resides in the cloud. Depending on your access needs, the data may be accessible in the following ways:

• Through a web-browser interface that lets you move files to and from the storage area using a variety of devices

• Through a mounted disk drive that appears locally to your computer as a disk drive letter or mounted file system

• For application developers, the storage area may present itself through a set of application program interface (API) calls