Object Storage Swift - Getting started – Support Guides

Learn how to create and manage your Swift Object Storage containers using the OVHcloud Control Panel, Swift S3 API, python-swiftclient, or the OVHcloud CLI.

The Object Storage Swift solution for Public Cloud offers unlimited storage with simple billing tailored to your needs. Containers can be configured for different use cases:

Static hosting (static website)
Private hosting (e.g. personal data storage)
Public hosting (publicly accessible content)
Cold storage (archiving)

Requirements

A Public Cloud project in your OVHcloud account
Depending on the tool you plan to use:
- Swift S3¹ API: An environment prepared for the OpenStack API with python-openstackclient and awscli installed
- Swift client: An environment prepared for the OpenStack API with python-swiftclient installed
- OVHcloud CLI: The OVHcloud CLI installed and configured

OVHcloud Control Panel Access

Direct link: Public Cloud Projects
Navigation path: Public Cloud > Select your project

Instructions

Preparation

Set the OpenStack environment variables

source <user_name>-openrc.sh
Please enter your OpenStack Password for project <project_name> as user <user_name>:

Install the OpenStack client if needed

pip install python-openstackclient

OpenStack client command reference: docs.openstack.org

Create EC2 credentials

S3 tokens require two parameters — access and secret — generated from Keystone:

openstack ec2 credentials create
+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Field      | Value                                                                                                                                  |
+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| access     | 5a4d8b8d88104123a862c527ede5a3d3                                                                                                       |
| links      | {u'self': u'https://auth.cloud.ovh.us/v3/users/d74d05ff121b44bea9216495e7f0df61/credentials/OS-EC2/5a4d8b8d88104123a862c527ede5a3d3'} |
| project_id | 20e124b71be141299e111ec26b1892fa                                                                                                       |
| secret     | 925d5fcfcd9f436d8ffcb20548cc53a2                                                                                                       |
| trust_id   | None                                                                                                                                   |
| user_id    | d74d05ff121b44bea9216495e7f0df61                                                                                                       |
+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Configure the AWS client

Install awscli:

Python package

pip install awscli

Debian-based OS

sudo apt install awscli

RHEL-based OS

sudo yum install awscli

Then configure it with the EC2 credentials generated above:

CLI method

aws configure

Follow the prompts and enter your access key and secret key when asked.

Manual method

cat ~/.aws/credentials

[default]
aws_access_key_id = <access_key>
aws_secret_access_key = <secret_key>

cat ~/.aws/config

[plugins]
endpoint = awscli_plugin_endpoint
[default]
region = <region>
s3 =
  endpoint_url = https://s3.<region>.cloud.ovh.us
  signature_version = s3v4
s3api =
  endpoint_url = https://s3.<region>.cloud.ovh.us

Both virtual-hosted-style and path-style access are supported; virtual-hosted-style is recommended, as path-style was deprecated after September 30, 2020.

Set the OpenStack environment variables:

source <user_name>-openrc.sh

Verify your setup:

swift --help

For the full list of Swift commands, refer to the OpenStack documentation.

Ensure the OVHcloud CLI is installed and configured with your credentials. For setup instructions, refer to the OVHcloud CLI documentation.

Create a container

When using the Swift S3 API, bucket names must follow these rules:

Between 3 and 63 characters long
Lowercase letters, numbers, periods, and dashes only
Must start with a lowercase letter or number
No underscores, no consecutive periods, no dashes adjacent to periods
Not formatted as an IP address (e.g. 198.51.100.24)

Click Create an object container.

Fill in the creation form:

Container name: Enter a name for your container.
Container type: Select Swift API.
Location: Choose an available location.
Container type: Choose the access type Static hosting, Private, or Public.

Review the summary panel, then click Create.

aws s3 mb s3://<container_name>

S3 buckets can only be created on the PCS (Object Storage) policy.

Create the container:

swift post container1

To make the container publicly accessible:

swift post --header "X-Container-Read: .r:*" container1

Verify the configuration:

swift stat container1

Account: AUTH_b3e26xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxb0ba29
Container: container1
Objects: 0
Bytes: 0
Read ACL: .r:*
Write ACL:
Sync To:
Sync Key:
Accept-Ranges: bytes
X-Trans-Id: B2210C05:8D93_052711A1:01BB_561CC9DF_1B305:30D7
X-Storage-Policy: Policy-0
Connection: close
X-Timestamp: 1444726875.27475
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Container creation is not available via the OVHcloud CLI. Use the Control Panel, the Swift S3 API, or the Swift client instead.

List your containers

Navigate to Object Storage in the left-hand menu. Your containers are listed under the My containers tab.

aws s3 ls

If you have more than one profile configured, add --profile <profile_name> to the command.

swift list

ovhcloud cloud storage swift list

Upload objects

Click on the name of your container, then click Add objects in the Objects tab.

Select the file you want to upload and click Import.

aws s3 cp /path/to/<object_name> s3://<container_name>/<object_name>

Upload a single file:

swift upload container1 file.txt

Upload an entire folder (a prefix matching the folder name is automatically added to the objects):

swift upload container1 images/

images/OVHlogo.png
images/OVHSummitKeynote.jpg

Object upload is not available via the OVHcloud CLI. Use the Control Panel, the Swift S3 API, or the Swift client instead.

List objects in a container

Click on the name of your container to view its objects in the Objects tab.

aws s3 ls s3://<container_name>

swift list container1

images/OVHSummitKeynote.jpg
images/OVHlogo.png
text1.txt
text2.txt
text3.txt

Filter by prefix:

swift list container1 --prefix images

images/OVHSummitKeynote.jpg
images/OVHlogo.png

If the container is public, objects are accessible directly via URL:

https://storage.us-east-va.cloud.ovh.us/v1/AUTH_b3e26xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxb0ba29/container1/images/OVHlogo.png

This URL is composed of an endpoint (available from the Horizon interface), the container name, and the object name (including prefix).

Object listing is not available via the OVHcloud CLI. Use the Control Panel, the Swift S3 API, or the Swift client instead.

Download objects

Click the download icon on the object line.

aws s3 cp s3://<container_name>/<object_name> .

Download a single file:

swift download container1 text1.txt

text1.txt [auth 0.328s, headers 0.452s, total 0.453s, 0.000 MB/s]

Download all files with a given prefix:

swift download container1 --prefix images

images/OVHlogo.png [auth 0.383s, headers 0.520s, total 0.522s, 0.135 MB/s]
images/OVHSummitKeynote.jpg [auth 0.371s, headers 0.514s, total 0.559s, 2.657 MB/s]

Object download is not available via the OVHcloud CLI. Use the Control Panel, the Swift S3 API, or the Swift client instead.

Delete objects and containers

Delete an object: Click the delete icon (trash can) on the object line and confirm.

Delete a container: Click the more options ... button on the container line, then select Delete and confirm.

Delete an object:

aws s3 rm s3://<container_name>/<object_name>

Delete a container (the container must be empty first):

aws s3 rb s3://<container_name>

Delete a file:

swift delete container1 text1.txt

text1.txt

Delete multiple files using a prefix:

swift delete container1 images/*

images/OVHSummitKeynote.jpg
images/OVHlogo.png

Delete a container (also deletes all objects inside it):

swift delete container1

text2.txt
text3.txt

Container and object deletion is not available via the OVHcloud CLI. Use the Control Panel, the Swift S3 API, or the Swift client instead.

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Public Cloud support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

If you need training or technical assistance to implement our solutions, contact your sales representative or click on this link to get a quote and ask our Professional Services experts for a custom analysis of your project.

*S3 is a trademark filed by Amazon Technologies, Inc. OVHcloud's service is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or otherwise affiliated with Amazon Technologies, Inc.