What Are the Best Distributed File Storage Systems and How to Choose One?

1. Introduction to Distributed Storage

In project data storage, structured data usually uses relational databases, while unstructured data (files) can be stored in many ways such as local server storage, NAS mounts, FTP, etc. This article reviews distributed file storage systems.

What is Distributed Storage?

Before discussing distributed storage, it is helpful to understand non‑distributed solutions.

DAS (Direct‑Attached Storage) : storage directly attached to the server; limited scalability and flexibility.

Centralized Storage (NAS, SAN) : devices connected via network, offering some scalability but constrained by controller capacity and lifecycle replacement costs.

Distributed Storage uses the disks of every machine in a cluster over the network, forming a virtual storage device with data spread across the enterprise.

Advantages of Distributed Storage

Scalability : can grow to hundreds or thousands of nodes with linear performance increase.

High Availability : ensures both system uptime and data consistency.

Low Cost : automatic fault tolerance and load balancing allow deployment on inexpensive servers.

Elastic Storage : resources can be added or removed without interrupting service.

2. Main Distributed File Systems

Popular systems include GFS, HDFS, Ceph, Lustre, MogileFS, MooseFS, FastDFS, TFS, GridFS, and others.

GFS (Google File System)

Google's proprietary distributed file system built for internal use; not open‑source.

HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System)

Core component of Hadoop, designed for storing massive data (TB‑PB). Provides a unified interface that looks like a regular file system.

TFS (Taobao File System)

High‑scalable, high‑availability, high‑performance distributed file system for massive unstructured data, especially small files (<1 MB) used by Taobao.

Lustre

Large‑scale, reliable cluster file system supporting over 10,000 nodes and petabyte‑scale storage, used in high‑performance computing.

MooseFS

Lightweight distributed file system with FUSE support, easy deployment, web‑based management, and a recycle‑bin‑like feature for accidental deletions.

MogileFS

Perl‑based key‑value file system widely used for storing massive images in web applications.

FastDFS

Open‑source C‑based lightweight system optimized for file‑centric online services such as photo or video sites.

GlusterFS

Open‑source horizontally scalable file system with no dedicated metadata server, offering linear expansion.

GridFS

MongoDB’s built‑in file storage that splits files into 4 MB chunks, storing metadata alongside content.

3. POSIX Overview

POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) is a Unix standard that defines a common API for applications, enabling cross‑platform compatibility.

4. Selection Guidance

General‑purpose file systems: Ceph, Lustre, MooseFS, GlusterFS.

Best for small files: Ceph, MooseFS, MogileFS, FastDFS, TFS.

Best for large files: HDFS, Ceph, Lustre, GlusterFS, GridFS.

Lightweight options: MooseFS, FastDFS.

Easy‑to‑use with active communities: MooseFS, MogileFS, FastDFS, GlusterFS.

Support FUSE mounting: HDFS, Ceph, Lustre, MooseFS, GlusterFS.