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Documentation / Getting started / Disk technologies

Disk technologies

In OtterStorage you choose the disk technology of each bucket: HDD, SSD, or NVMe. It determines performance and price. Here's when to choose each one.

Unlike most providers —which classify by access frequency—, in OtterStorage you decide directly which disk technology each bucket lives on. That decision, which you make when you create the bucket and cannot change later, sets two things: performance (latency and throughput) and pricing (€/TB·month). You can mix technologies: each bucket gets its own, depending on the type of data.

The three technologies

HDD 8 €/TB·month
Performance
Capacity and cost; moderate latency and throughput
Ideal for
Backups, archiving, historical and cold data
Typical service
OtterArchive · OtterVault
SSD 16 €/TB·month
Performance
Balance between price and performance
Ideal for
Production, SaaS, web, uploads and media, general use
Typical service
OtterPool
NVMe 45 €/TB·month
Performance
Maximum throughput and minimum latency
Ideal for
Datasets, AI/ML, big data, intensive workloads
Typical service
OtterLake

Prices per TB stored per month, prorated, with no commitment. Requests (PUT/GET/LIST) and deletes (DELETE) are never billed, whatever the technology.

Which one do I choose?

Choose HDD if…

  • You store backups, historical archives, or cold data.
  • Access is infrequent and you prioritize cost per TB.
  • The volume is large and latency is not critical (long retention, DR, compliance).

It fits with OtterArchive (cheap archiving) and OtterVault (immutable backups).

Choose SSD if…

  • It's production storage: a web or SaaS app, uploads, images, video, attachments.
  • You want a good balance between performance and price for general use.
  • There are frequent reads/writes but you don't need absolute maximum performance.

It's the default option for OtterPool.

Choose NVMe if…

  • You work with large datasets, AI training/inference, or big data analytics.
  • You need maximum throughput and minimum latency (many objects in parallel).
  • Performance matters more than cost per TB.

It's the technology behind OtterLake for massive workloads.

Quick rule: backups and archiving? → HDD. A production app? → SSD. AI and datasets? → NVMe. And remember: the technology is fixed when you create the bucket and cannot be changed; if you need a different one, create a new bucket and migrate the objects.

The available technology depends on the zone you choose. When you create a bucket from the console, you'll only see the technologies that zone offers.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change a bucket's technology later? +
No. The disk technology is fixed when you create the bucket and cannot be changed. If you need a different one, create a new bucket with the desired technology and copy the objects (for example with rclone).
Can I mix technologies in my account? +
Yes. Each bucket has its own technology. The usual setup is to keep hot data on SSD/NVMe and copies on HDD, all under the same account.
Does the technology change the price of requests or deletes? +
No. Requests and deletes are free on every technology. Only the storage rate per TB·month changes (HDD 8 €, SSD 16 €, NVMe 45 €).

Ready to choose?

Create a bucket and select its technology in seconds.

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