AWS (Amazon Web Services) Certification Practice Exam

Object storage organizes data primarily by which of the following?

1. File names

2. Directory structure

3. Flat address space

4. Separate volumes

The correct answer is: Flat address space

Object storage organizes data primarily using a flat address space. In contrast to traditional file systems that use hierarchical structures composed of directories and file names, object storage stores data as discrete units called objects. Each object is identified by a unique key or a combination of metadata that allows for efficient retrieval without the need for a specific directory structure. This flat address space is highly scalable, enabling the storage of vast amounts of unstructured data across distributed systems while maintaining performance. Each object can contain the data itself, metadata, and a unique identifier, making it easy to manage and locate. The other choices may suggest methods of data organization characteristic of traditional file systems or block storage systems, which rely on hierarchies or volumes to structure data. However, object storage's advantage lies in its simplicity and extensibility through the use of a flat address space.