The proliferation of rich media on the Internet has created new challenges for Web site owners. Because rich-media files are much larger than static Web objects, they tax storage and network infrastructures. Internet-based storage, which is derived from distributed object technology, lets companies avoid building their own legacy storage infrastructures.
Companies can sign up with an Internet-based storage service vendor and buy storage as needed.
Furthermore, by using enhanced features such as geographic mirroring, load balancing and a global file system, Internet-based storage vendors can offer new services. An Internet storage infrastructure consists of strategically placed data centers serving data from hot storage to end users. Subscriber data is distributed and mirrored across data centers that serve information to users from the best location. A key component of an Internet storage infrastructure is global load-balancing technology, which directs users to the optimal global data center. Load-balancing technology is further used to direct users to the optimal server cluster within that data center.