Managed Private Storage Object Storage
Object Storage stores unstructured data as discrete objects, each containing the data and associated metadata. It supports scalable storage and flexible data access, making it suitable for content such as emails, multimedia files, web pages, and data generated by IoT devices.
Object Storage Capabilities
- Support for diverse unstructured data types across short- and long-term storage use cases.
- Scalable capacity to accommodate increasing data volumes without infrastructure changes.
- S3-compatible API integration for data access and management.
- Security features including encryption, Transport Layer Security (TLS), and identity and access management.
- Data protection through erasure coding for resilient storage with minimal overhead.
- Geo-redundant asynchronous Inter-IBX replication (optional add-on) for improved fault tolerance and availability within a region.
- Data sovereignty controls to keep data in the selected location unless configured otherwise.
- Continuous monitoring and proactive maintenance to support performance and uptime.
Object Storage Use Cases
- Storage and management of backup data from multiple sources with support for efficient backup and restore operations.
- Immutable storage and geo-redundant replication to protect backup data against ransomware and other threats.
Replication
Inter-IBX Replication
- Using active-passive (unidirectional) configuration to synchronize data between clusters, Inter-IBX Replication supports high availability, disaster recovery, and data locality for multi-site environments.
- Key use cases include multi-site resilience for business continuity, geographically distributed application performance, hybrid cloud data migrations, and automated compliant archiving.
- Inter-IBX Replication uses Bucket Replication for granular control over which data is replicated across sites or providers.
- When the Inter-IBX Replication option is ordered, versioning must be enabled on all replicated buckets. Customers can request to apply a general pre-expiration period to non-current object versions to manage storage consumption, or manage these versions manually using S3 protocol operations, with requests submitted through a Service Ticket.
Replication Use Cases
- Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity through active-passive replication, enables failover to a secondary site in the event of a cluster outage with minimal data loss.
- Bulk data synchronization for backup, migration, and compliance using batch replication of existing objects across buckets or clusters.
- Replication of Object Lock configurations and identity and access management (IAM) policies alongside object data to maintain consistent security and compliance across sites.
Service Demarcation and Enabling Services
Service demarcation defines the boundary between the customer environment and the Equinix-managed environment. MPS is delivered as a Storage as a Service offering in which Equinix provides and operates the platform, including the operational console, servers, and storage components. Licensing and support for the MPS platform are provided by Equinix. Responsibility for client software and internet connectivity used to access or manage the service remains with the customer. For additional details, see Product Policies.
Onboarding
During the MPS onboarding process, the following information is provided:
- One root account with root permissions within the Tenant environment
- Tenant name and Account ID
- Tenant Portal and Managed Object Storage URLs
- Username and password
- API Keys
- The ordered quota
- IP addresses on the allow-list
Performance Targets
| Service Tier | Performance Target IOPS/TB (SLO) | Average Latency (SLO) | Profile | Protocols |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Object (Standard) | N/A | N/A | 4 MB Object | S3 |
Purchase Units
The MPS service is charged monthly based on baseline values or baseline with overage charge types.
- Baseline - The specific volume of the service, defined in the order, measured in the unit of measure (UoM).
- Overage - The quantity of the service consumed above the contracted baseline volume.
MPS is billed per terabyte, based on the total volume of data written. Access is provided up to the baseline volume ordered. If data usage exceeds the contracted amount, storage access continues without disruption. An overage charge is applied according to the overage price defined in the quote.
| Category | Purchase Unit | UoM | Install Fee | Billing Method | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPS Service | Object | TB | No | Baseline | Yes |
Calculation of Overage Values
MPS consumption is measured multiple times per day. Each day, the maximum consumption reading is used for overage calculation. The monthly overage value is calculated as the sum of daily maximum consumption values above baseline divided by the number of days in the billing month.
The number of days in a billing month is defined as the period from two days before the start of the month to two days before the next month. For example, consumption for October is measured from 29 September through 30 October.
For example, if a customer orders 100 TB of Object Storage, the daily maximum consumption is recorded as the following:
| Day of the month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | … | 30 | 31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usage | 70 TB | 75 TB | 85 TB | 110 TB | 111 TB | 110 TB | … | 98 TB | 98 TB |
The subscribed limit is exceeded on days 4, 5, and 6. After these days, the data was probably deleted by the customer to reduce the overall volume.
During the period, the monthly overage would be (10 TB + 11 TB + 10 TB) / 31 days = 1 TB overage.
The overage volume is capped at 25 percent of the committed volume. In this example, the customer can burst to an additional 25 TB of capacity.
Roles and Responsibilities
RACI defines responsibility roles: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
Onboarding
Once the MPS order is received by the Equinix fulfillment team, onboarding tasks are started.
| Activity | Equinix | Customer |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule and execute project kickoff meeting | RA | CI |
| Schedule and execute customer onboarding | RA | CI |
| Connectivity - Fabric (order and setup). MPC Customers do not require Equinix Fabric to connect to MPS Object. | CI | RA |
| Selection of policies for data buckets (Replication and Erasure Coding Policies) | RA | CI |
| Solution documents and user guides | RA | CI |
| Infrastructure licensing and use rights | RA | I |
Acceptance Into Service
After onboarding activities are completed, testing confirms whether the product was delivered successfully and is ready for billing.
| Activity | Equinix | Customer |
|---|---|---|
| Test access to MPS product page on Managed Solutions Portal | CI | RA |
| Create access key and access key password | RA | CI |
| Change initial password | RA | CI |
| Password management and additional users | RA | CI |
Operational
Once the MPS service is active, the following operational activities apply.
| Activity | Equinix | Customer |
|---|---|---|
| Install software and firmware updates and patches for storage infrastructure | RA | I |
| Create storage buckets | RA | CI |
| API management and key management | - | RA |
| Change management and schedule changes | RA | CI |
| Confirm changes to the customer | RA | CI |
| Configure IAM policies for data management and customer isolation | RA | CI |
| Tenant capacity management | I | RA |
| 24x7 platform management (incident/event management) | RA | I |
| Data life cycle management | I | RA |
| Platform capacity management | RA | I |
| Infrastructure life cycle management | RA | I |
| Performance management | RA | CI |
Incident Management
Incident management is included as part of service support. All incidents are handled according to priority. Priority is determined after the issue is reported and assessed by Equinix based on the information provided.
| Priority | Impact/Urgency | Description |
|---|---|---|
| P1 High | Unforeseen unavailability of a service or environment delivered and managed by Equinix in accordance with the service description due to a disruption. The user cannot fulfill obligations towards users and suffers direct demonstrable damage due to the unavailability of this functionality. | The service must be restored immediately. The production environments are unavailable, with platform-wide disruptions. |
| P2 Medium | The service does not offer full functionality or has partial functionality or reduced performance, impacting users. The user suffers direct demonstrable damage due to unavailability of the functionality. The service may be impacted due to limited availability. | The service must be repaired the same working day. The management environment is not available. |
| P3 Low | The service functions with limited availability for one or more users and a workaround is in place. | The moment of repair is determined in consultation with the reporting person. |
This classification does not apply to disruptions caused by user-specific applications, user actions, or dependencies on third parties. Incidents can be submitted in the Customer Portal under Managed Solutions. P1 incidents must be submitted by phone.
Service Requests
Customers can raise a Service Request for configuration changes that cannot be implemented through self-service in the Operational Console or when assistance is required for changes made in the Operational Console. Support is available 24x7x365 for the Managed Private Storage service.
There are two types of Service Requests:
- Included - Service Requests within the scope of the service, with no additional charges.
- Additional - Service Requests outside the scope of the service, with additional charges.
Guidance is available for all service requests that can be executed through self-service. In these cases, Equinix provides procedural instructions and oversees execution by the customer.
| Request name | Request type |
|---|---|
| Initial installation and configuration¹ | Additional |
| Add/Delete capacity | Included |
| Add/Delete Inter-IBX protection | Additional |
| Add service in a new IBX² | New order |
| Activate/Deactivate object versioning | Included |
| Activate/Deactivate object locking | Included |
| Add/Remove user | Included |
| Add/Remove/Modify host mapping | Included |
| Add/Remove/Modify/Failover replication management | Additional |
¹Initial installation and configuration includes setting up the storage environment (size/volume, storage type, tier, protocol, and replication status), enabling connectivity (switching, VLANs, IP assignment, zoning), creating LUNs, applying SAN masking, and granting access to the environment. ²Expansion to a new IBX requires a business case assessment on a site-by-site basis, driven by financial and technical requirements. A feasibility study is required.
Customers may request changes not listed in the table by selecting Change in the Service Request module in the Managed Solutions Portal. Equinix will conduct an impact analysis to determine feasibility, associated costs, and lead time.
Any charges related to service requests are deducted from the Premier Support Plan balance. If the balance is insufficient, charges are invoiced in arrears at the prevailing rate. Changes to baseline capacity, the amount ordered, or any other change affecting the monthly service fee must be initiated through the Sales team.
Reporting
As part of the service, customers have access to monthly service reporting covering the following topics:
- SLA reporting (available via Service Request)
- Capacity
Service Levels
The Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines the measurable performance levels for the MPS service and specifies the remedies available if these levels are not met. The service credits described in this section are the sole and exclusive remedy for failure to meet the stated thresholds.
The SLA for support applies to incident registration and resolution.
| Priority | Response time¹ | Resolution time² | Execution of work | SLA³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | < 30 min | < 4 hours | 24x7 | 95% |
| P2 | < 60 min | < 24 hours | 24x7 | 95% |
| P3 | < 120 min | < 5 days | 24x7 | 95% |
¹ Response time is measured from the moment a trouble ticket is submitted until a formal response is sent by an Equinix Managed Solutions specialist. ² Resolution time is measured from case registration until the ticket is closed, cancelled in the ITSM tool, or handed over to IBX Support. ³ SLA applies to response time. Specific SLA terms are defined in the product policy.
Availability
The MPS service is considered Unavailable when the customer cannot access the storage environment due to Equinix-caused reasons. The SLA applies only to the storage environment; unavailability caused by connection issues is not included.
| Availability Service Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 99.95%+ | Achieved when total monthly unavailability of the storage service is less than 22 minutes. |
| Service option | Availability |
|---|---|
| Managed Private Storage – Object | 99.95% |