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Comparing Ceph and GlusterFS

Shared storage systems GlusterFS and Ceph compared

Article from ADMIN 23/2014

By Udo Seidel and Martin Loschwitz

Many shared storage solutions are currently vying for users’ favor; however, Ceph and GlusterFS generate the most press. We compare the two competitors and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each solution.

Big Data is a major buzzword today in terms of IT trends. Snappy observers sometimes comment that, although everyone might talk about the subject, no one really knows what it actually is. On the other hand, US-based InkTank and the Linux veteran Red Hat have been providing concrete contributions to the subject of Big Data for some time.

Specifically, this means the Ceph [1] object store and the GlusterFS [2] filesystem, which provide the underpinnings for Big Data projects. The term refers not only to storing data but also to the systemization and the ability to search efficiently through large data sets. For this process to work, the data first has to reside somewhere. This is obviously exactly where InkTank and Red Hat see a niche for their products, which both manufacturers are trying their very best to fill.

Endless Expanses

Both companies have made the same basic promise: Storage that can be created with GlusterFS or Ceph is supposed to be almost endlessly expandable. Admins will never again run out of space. This promise is, however, almost the only similarity between the two projects, because underneath, both solutions go about their business completely differently and achieve their goals in different ways. Anyone who has not, to date, dealt in great detail with one of the two solutions can hardly be expected to comprehend the basic workings of Ceph and GlusterFS right away – a comparison of the two projects is therefore not easy. In this article, we draw as complete a picture of the two solutions as possible and directly compare the functions of Ceph and GlusterFS. What is Ceph best suited for, and where do GlusterFS's strengths lie? Are there use cases in which neither one is any good?