centron S3 Object Storage – Overview
The centron S3 Object Storage is a highly available, S3-compatible storage service for unstructured data. Instead of a traditional directory hierarchy, data is stored as objects in buckets and accessed via an HTTP-based API. As the interface is compatible with the de facto standard S3, common tools, SDKs and backup programmes work without any customisation.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Bucket | The top-level container for objects. The name is unique within a region. |
| Object | A file, including metadata. Objects are immutable – an ‘update’ creates a new version or replaces the object. |
| Key | The name of an object within a bucket, e.g. backups/2026/07/db.tar.gz. Slashes create an apparent folder structure (prefixes). |
| Access Key / Secret Key | A pair of credentials for authenticating with the S3 API. |
| Region / Endpoint | The location or the URL at which the API can be accessed. |
Endpoints
| Value |
|---|
| Endpoint | https://s3.internet1.de |
| Region | |
| Addressing | Virtual-hosted-style (https://Bucketname.s3.internet1.de) and Path-style (https://s3.internet1.de/Bucketname) |
Typical use cases
- Backups & archiving – e.g. using restic, Veeam, Kopia, Duplicati or Bareos
- Static assets – images, videos, downloads for websites and apps
- Data sharing – sharing large files across Teams or with customers
- Cloud-native applications – direct integration via SDKs (Python, Go, JavaScript, etc.)
- Data lakes / analytics – storing raw data cost-effectively
How it differs from other storage products
| Object storage | Block storage (volumes) | File server/NFS |
|---|
| Access | HTTP/S3 API | as a drive on the server | Network file system |
| Scalability | virtually unlimited | tied to the server | limited |
| Suitable for | backups, assets, archives | databases, operating systems | shared working directories |
| Latency | higher (HTTP) | very low | low |
Key features
- S3-compatible: works with AWS CLI, s3cmd, MinIO Client, rclone, SDKs and many more.
- Redundant storage: Objects are stored multiple times (erasure coding / replication).
- Encryption: TLS for transmission; optional SSE-C with your own key.
- Protection features: versioning, Object Lock (legal hold & retention), lifecycle policies.
- Access control: private buckets by default, public sharing optional.
Next steps
- Create S3 access credentials
- Create your first bucket
- Set up CLI tools