In-Memory vs Blob Storage

[Paul]

The in-memory allocation is 500 MB. This is the amount of space allotted to the 'Rain' account for queryable data. This space may be spread out over different instances on different servers in a given region. The 20 GB of blob space is stored differently. We use the Digital Ocean Spaces object storage for this feature. This data is not queryable. It is useful for large chunks of data like pictures, video, PDF, etc.

Interesting. Would the address of the blob object, then be stored in memory, as a field in a table? Would this be an internal address or a public URL? Does this mean that all the contents of all tables that have keys, must be stored in the 500 MB area?

In the event of an overflow, (more than 500 MB) would the least used tables be cached out the the hard drive? Or would an account upgrade be required?

[mark_talluto]

We have a few built-in tables to support LiveCloud.
1. cdbBlobs - Used to track your blob usage
2. cdbUsers - Used to manage the users of your apps.
3. cdbCache (this one is not visible) - Used to handle your temporary offline storage when a cloud call fails.

Each project you create will automatically get these tables built for you. The APIs work tightly with these particular tables for you.

Blobs created will be stored in the object storage location. Blobs will not count against your database usage. Blob Meta-data gets stored in your cdbBlob table. This will count against your database storage. But, the usage is minimal. The blob meta-data contains an id to the blob object. The blob is stored encrypted. It is broken into pieces as needed for storage. The cdb APIs automatically handle the reconstruction.

On a paid plan: If you go over your usage of 500 MB for your database, the service will continue to work. The service will bill for the overage. The plan will continue to charge the base $15 plus the extra needed storage. The storage overage pricing is linear.

On a free plan: If you go over, you will lose the ability to continue to write. You will be able to read. No extra fees will apply.

Both plans will notify you when you are approaching and going over your plan's included space. You can also check this anytime you like in the accounts section of LCM. Tracking your memory usage is useful to monitor your growth. You can always delete data to stay within limits.

My view on this is if you are running a business and your data needs are growing, this is a good sign of progress. I am guessing you are making more money because of the growth. But, if you are in development, it is easy to delete data.