Why We Chose Ceph to Build Block Storage

DigitalOcean introduced Block Storage in July 2016 as a scalable and portable block storage service, replacing the previous approach of using virtualization hypervisor's local drives. The new service uses Ceph, an open-source distributed storage system that offers redundancy, scalability, and features, and is built for performance stability and flexibility. Ceph is used to provide a 100% SSD-based Block Storage service with flexible block storage presented like a local drive, and the loss of individual components does not compromise data integrity or availability. The service is monitored using tools such as Icinga, Prometheus, and ceph_exporter, and has multiple copies of data stored across separate servers and racks to ensure high data durability and availability. The deployment into new regions brings hundreds of enterprise-class SSDs managed by the Luminous release of Ceph, allowing for transparent expansion or upgrade without downtime.