What Does Cooperative Storage Cloud Mean?
A cooperative storage cloud is a type of cloud storage service model in which data is stored on distributed clients and nodes in a decentralized system. A cooperative storage cloud enables the storage of data on remote and distinct participants, which pool their storage capacity to deliver a unified cloud storage solution.
A cooperative storage cloud may also be referred to as a peer-to peer storage cloud or a cloud storage co-op.
Techopedia Explains Cooperative Storage Cloud
A cooperative storage cloud is an implementation of peer-to-peer computing architecture. This service is generally delivered by a cloud storage service provider that builds specialized P2P software to manage the storage and retrieval of data. Such a service works when the P2P software is installed by all the participating subscribers. Each subscriber provides a predefined storage capacity that can be allocated to the system. In turn, the storage service provides the collective storage capacity of all subscribers to the same or other subscribers.
A cooperative storage cloud is different from typical cloud storage service providers, which use their own storage infrastructure to host and provision storage. Although there are no dedicated servers/infrastructure for hosting/storing the data, an application server may be present to control and manage the storage logic or the overall storage, sharing and retrieval of data from remote systems.