a deep dive into google cloud storage — part 2

A Deep Dive into Google Cloud Storage — Part 2

Understand storage classes, lifecycle management, and access control policies & permissions on GCS.

Storage Classes

GCS offers four storage classes, each optimized for different access patterns:

• Standard: Best for frequent access, no minimum storage duration
• Nearline: Best for data accessed less than once per month (30-day minimum)
• Coldline: Best for data accessed less than once per quarter (90-day minimum)
• Archive: Best for data accessed less than once per year (365-day minimum)

Lifecycle Management

Lifecycle rules automate storage class transitions and object deletion:

• Automatically move objects to cheaper storage classes as they age
• Delete temporary objects after a set period
• Transition based on creation date, number of versions, or custom conditions

Access Control

• Uniform bucket-level access: IAM-only permissions (recommended)
• Fine-grained: Both IAM and ACLs (legacy)
• Signed URLs: Temporary access to specific objects
• Signed Policy Documents: Control what can be uploaded