Fully Managed File Storage, Shared Storage for Your Entire Infrastructure • Starting at $0.02/GB/month
Lineserve File Storage
Deploy fully managed, highly available NFS file systems that can be accessed simultaneously by thousands of instances. Scale from gigabytes to petabytes with automatic capacity management, built-in redundancy, and no infrastructure to maintain.
What is File Storage?
Lineserve File Storage provides fully managed, elastic NFS file systems that can be mounted by multiple cloud instances simultaneously. Unlike Block Storage (which attaches to a single instance) or Object Storage (which uses API access), File Storage provides standard file system interface with shared access, hierarchical structure, and POSIX semantics. Perfect for workloads that require shared access to files across multiple servers, such as content management, web serving, development environments, and data analytics.
Standard file system interface
Use familiar tools like ls, cp, and mv without changing your applications.
Shared access
Multiple instances can read and write to the same files simultaneously.
Hierarchical structure
Organize data in directories and subdirectories, just like a local drive.
POSIX semantics
Full support for file locking, permissions, and attributes.
Elastic capacity
Storage automatically grows as you add data and shrinks when you delete it.
Storage Type Comparison
| Feature | Block Storage | File Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Access | Single Attach | Multi-Attach |
| Ideal For | Databases, Boot | CMS, Shared Data |
Simple, Transparent Pricing
Choose the storage class that matches your performance needs. Pay only for what you use.
Universal
Shared, scalable file storage for general workloads
Performance Profile
- Baseline: 100 MB/s
- Burst: Up to 1 GB/s
- Latency: 1-3 ms
💰 File Storage Calculator
Without lifecycle: $105.00/month
Savings: $55.80 (53% cost reduction)
Compare Features
| Class | Throughput | Access Fee | Min Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 100 MB/s included | None | None |
| Performance | 500 MB/s included | None | None |
| Infrequent | 100 MB/s | $0.01/GB | None |
Lifecycle Policies
Automate cost savings by moving files between storage classes based on access patterns.
Enterprise-Grade Performance
Elastic throughput that scales with your workload, backed by SSD storage
Throughput Comparison
Latency Comparison (Lower is Better)
Detailed Performance Specifications
| Specification | Fast | Universal | Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline Throughput | 500 MB/s | 100 MB/s | 100 MB/s |
| Burst Throughput | Up to 3 GB/s | Up to 1 GB/s | N/A |
| Max Provisioned | 10 GB/s | N/A | N/A |
| Read Latency (avg) | <1 ms | 1-3 ms | 10-50 ms |
| Write Latency (avg) | 1-2 ms | 2-5 ms | 10-50 ms |
| Max File Size | 16 TB | 16 TB | 16 TB |
| Max File System Size | 1 PB | 1 PB | 1 PB |
| Concurrent Connections | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
How Throughput Works
Standard Class:
Performance Class:
📊 Real-World Benchmarks
fio test, parallel read/write
Test Configuration:
- File System: 1 TB Performance Class
- Provisioned Throughput: 1 GB/s
- Clients: 10 × 8 vCPU instances
- Test: fio parallel read/write
| Test | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential | 1,050 MB/s | 980 MB/s |
| Random 4K | 45,000 IOPS | 38,000 IOPS |
| Latency (avg) | 0.8 ms | 1.2 ms |
| Latency (p99) | 2.1 ms | 3.5 ms |
Key Features
Everything you need for enterprise-grade file storage
Fully Managed Service
No servers to provision, no software to install, no patches to apply. We handle all the infrastructure — you just create a file system and start using it. Focus on your applications, not storage management.
Automatic Elastic Scaling
Storage capacity scales automatically as you add or remove files. No pre-provisioning required. Pay only for the storage you actually use, and never worry about running out of space.
Multi-AZ High Availability
Data is automatically replicated across multiple availability zones within a region. Survives the loss of an entire data center with no data loss and no action required from you.
Unlimited Concurrent Access
Mount the same file system from thousands of instances simultaneously. All instances see the same data in real-time. Perfect for web farms, container clusters, and distributed applications.
POSIX-Compliant NFS
Standard NFSv4.1 protocol with full POSIX semantics. File locking, permissions, hard links, and symbolic links work as expected. Compatible with all Linux distributions and NFS clients.
Encryption at Rest & Transit
All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256. Data in transit is encrypted using TLS. Manage your own keys with KMS integration or use Lineserve-managed keys.
Point-in-Time Snapshots
Create instant snapshots of your entire file system for backup and recovery. Snapshots are incremental and space-efficient. Restore individual files or entire file systems.
Intelligent Lifecycle Policies
Automatically move files between storage classes based on access patterns. Reduce costs by up to 60% by moving cold data to Infrequent Access storage automatically.
Network Security
Control access to your file systems using VPC security groups and mount target configurations. Restrict access to specific instances, subnets, or IP ranges.
Built-in Monitoring
Real-time metrics for throughput, IOPS, connections, and storage utilization. Set up alerts for capacity and performance thresholds. Integrate with Cloud Monitor and external tools.
Cross-Region Replication
Replicate your file systems to other regions for disaster recovery and data locality. Automatic, continuous replication keeps your DR site in sync with minimal lag.
Access Points
Create multiple access points with different root directories and permissions for the same file system. Simplify access management for multi-tenant or multi-application scenarios.
Available in 3 Strategic Locations
Deploy File Storage in the same region as your compute for lowest latency and data sovereignty compliance
| Region | Location | Universal | Fast | Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ke-1a | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | |
| ng-1a | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | |
| tz-1a | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available |
Mount Targets:
Each file system has mount targets in each availability zone. Mount from the mount target in the same AZ as your instance for lowest latency and no cross-AZ data transfer charges.
Example: fs-abc123.mount.ke-1aa.filestorage.lineserve.net
Use Cases
Perfect for shared storage needs across your infrastructure
Content Management & Web Serving
Serve website content, images, and media from a shared file system accessible by all web servers. Eliminate the need for file synchronization and ensure all servers serve the same content instantly.
Container & Kubernetes Storage
Provide persistent storage for containerized applications. Use as ReadWriteMany (RWX) volumes in Kubernetes for workloads that need shared access across multiple pods.
Development Environments
Share source code, build artifacts, and development tools across developer workstations and CI/CD servers. Enable seamless collaboration with a single source of truth.
Big Data & Analytics
Store datasets for analytics workloads. High-throughput Performance class enables fast parallel reads from multiple compute nodes for Spark, Hadoop, and other distributed processing frameworks.
Machine Learning Training Data
Store training datasets accessible by multiple GPU instances simultaneously. High throughput ensures GPUs stay fed with data during training runs.
Media & Entertainment
Store and process video, audio, and image files. Shared access enables rendering farms and editing workstations to work on the same projects simultaneously.
Home Directories
Provide consistent home directories across multiple servers. Users get the same environment regardless of which server they connect to. Perfect for HPC clusters and remote desktops.
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Use Infrequent Access class for cost-effective backup storage. Cross-region replication keeps a copy of critical data in another region for disaster recovery.
Get Started in Minutes
Follow these simple steps to get your File Storage file system up and running
STEP 1: Create a File System
Create a File Storage file system in your chosen region and storage class.
Via Console:
- Navigate to Storage → File Storage
- Click "Create File System"
- Enter a name (e.g., "shared-data")
- Select storage class (Standard, Performance, or IA)
- Choose region (same as your instances)
- Configure VPC and security groups
- Click "Create"
lineserve filestorage create \
--name shared-data \
--class standard \
--region ke-1a \
--vpc-id vpc-abc123STEP 2: Configure Mount Targets
Mount targets are automatically created in each availability zone. Configure security groups to control access.
Via Console:
- Select your file system
- Go to "Mount Targets" tab
- Configure security groups for each mount target
- Note the mount target DNS names
# List mount targets
lineserve filestorage mount-targets list --fs-id fs-xyz789
# Update security groups
lineserve filestorage mount-target update \
--mount-target-id mt-abc123 \
--security-groups sg-nfs-access
# Security Group Rules (Example):
# Type: NFS
# Protocol: TCP
# Port: 2049
# Source: sg-web-servers (or CIDR: 10.0.0.0/16)STEP 3: Mount on Instances
Mount the file system on your Linux instances using standard NFS mount commands.
# Install NFS client (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y nfs-common
# Create mount point
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/shared
# Mount the file system
sudo mount -t nfs4 -o nfsvers=4.1,rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576,hard,timeo=600,retrans=2 \
fs-xyz789.mount.ke-1aa.filestorage.lineserve.net:/ /mnt/shared
# Verify mount
df -h /mnt/shared
# Add to /etc/fstab for automatic mounting on boot
echo 'fs-xyz789.mount.ke-1aa.filestorage.lineserve.net:/ /mnt/shared nfs4 nfsvers=4.1,rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576,hard,timeo=600,retrans=2,_netdev 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstabFor RHEL/CentOS/Rocky: Use `sudo yum install -y nfs-utils`
STEP 4: Start Using Shared Storage
Your file system is now mounted! Any file you create is instantly available on all instances.
# On any instance, create a file
echo "Hello from shared storage!" > /mnt/shared/index.html
# On any other instance, read the file
cat /mnt/shared/index.html
# Output: Hello from shared storage!
# Example — WordPress Uploads:
sudo ln -s /mnt/shared/wp-content/uploads /var/www/html/wp-content/uploads
# Example — Application Config:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/shared/config
sudo cp /app/config.yml /mnt/shared/config/
# All servers now read from the same configNative Kubernetes Integration
Use Lineserve File Storage as ReadWriteMany (RWX) persistent volumes in your Kubernetes clusters
CSI Driver Installation
If you're using Lineserve Kubernetes Engine (LKE), the CSI driver is pre-installed. For self-managed clusters:
# Install the Lineserve File Storage CSI driver
kubectl apply -k "github.com/lineserve/csi-driver-nfs/deploy/kubernetes"
# Verify installation
kubectl get pods -n kube-system -l app=lineserve-nfs-csiStorageClass Definitions
# StorageClass for Standard class
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
name: lineserve-nfs-standard
provisioner: nfs.csi.lineserve.net
parameters:
storageClass: standard
region: ke-1a
vpcId: vpc-abc123
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: Immediate
allowVolumeExpansion: truePersistentVolumeClaim Example
# PVC for shared storage (RWX)
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
name: shared-storage
spec:
accessModes:
- ReadWriteMany # RWX - multiple pods can read/write
storageClassName: lineserve-nfs-standard
resources:
requests:
storage: 100GiSupported Access Modes
Lineserve File Storage supports all Kubernetes access modes:
Note: RWX is the key differentiator from Block Storage, which only supports RWO. Use File Storage when multiple pods need to write to the same volume simultaneously.
Access Points for Multi-Tenant Isolation
Create multiple entry points to a single file system with different root directories and permissions
What are Access Points?
Access Points let you create multiple logical entry points to the same file system, each with:
- •Different root directory — Clients see only a subdirectory
- •Different POSIX user/group — Enforce identity at mount time
- •Different permissions — Restrict access per access point
Perfect for:
- • Multi-tenant applications
- • Per-application isolation
- • User home directories
- • Simplified access management
Visual:
Creating Access Points
Create an access point:
# Create an access point for tenant-a
lineserve filestorage access-point create \
--fs-id fs-xyz789 \
--name tenant-a \
--root-directory /tenant-a \
--posix-user uid=1001,gid=1001 \
--permissions 0755
# Mount using access point
sudo mount -t nfs4 -o nfsvers=4.1,accesspoint=ap-abc123 \
fs-xyz789.mount.ke-1aa.filestorage.lineserve.net:/ /mnt/tenant-aProtect Your Data
Point-in-time snapshots and cross-region replication for backup and disaster recovery
File System Snapshots
Create point-in-time snapshots of your entire file system:
- ✓Instant creation — Snapshots complete in seconds
- ✓Incremental — Only changed data is stored
- ✓Consistent — Captures a consistent point-in-time view
- ✓Browsable — Mount snapshots read-only to browse/restore files
- ✓Cloneable — Create new file systems from snapshots
# Create a snapshot
lineserve filestorage snapshot create \
--fs-id fs-xyz789 \
--name daily-backup-2025-12-15
# List snapshots
lineserve filestorage snapshot list --fs-id fs-xyz789
# Restore a file from snapshot
sudo mount -t nfs4 -o ro \
fs-xyz789.mount.ke-1aa.filestorage.lineserve.net:/.snapshots/snap-abc123 \
/mnt/snapshot
cp /mnt/snapshot/path/to/file /mnt/shared/path/to/filePricing: $0.05/GB/month (incremental storage only)
Cross-Region Replication
Automatically replicate your file system to another region for disaster recovery:
- ✓Continuous replication — Changes sync automatically
- ✓Low RPO — Typically minutes of data at risk
- ✓Read-only replica — Can be promoted to read-write on failover
- ✓Same performance — Replica uses same storage class
# Enable replication to another region
lineserve filestorage replication create \
--source-fs-id fs-xyz789 \
--destination-region tz-1a
# Check replication status
lineserve filestorage replication status --fs-id fs-xyz789
# Failover (promote replica to primary)
lineserve filestorage replication failover \
--replica-fs-id fs-replica-123Pricing: $0.02/GB transferred
Continuous Replication
Automated Snapshot Schedules
Set up automated snapshots with configurable retention:
lineserve filestorage snapshot-schedule create \
--fs-id fs-xyz789 \
--frequency daily \
--time 02:00 \
--retention 30Available Schedules:
- • Hourly — Retain last 24
- • Daily — Retain last 7, 14, or 30
- • Weekly — Retain last 4, 8, or 12
- • Custom cron expression
Enterprise-Grade Security
Protect your data with encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications
Encryption
- •At Rest: AES-256 encryption for all data
- •In Transit: TLS 1.3 encryption for NFS traffic
- •Key Management: Lineserve-managed or BYOK via KMS
- •Automatic: Encryption is always on
Access Control
- •VPC Security Groups: Control network access to mount targets
- •IAM Policies: Control who can manage file systems
- •POSIX Permissions: Standard Unix file permissions
- •Access Points: Per-application or per-tenant isolation
- •Audit Logging: Track all access and management actions
Compliance
Lineserve File Storage is certified and compliant with:
Additional: Egypt DPL • Tanzania DPA • Uganda DPA • Rwanda DPL
✅ Security Best Practices
- 1Use VPC security groups to restrict mount target access
Only allow NFS (port 2049) from your application subnets - 2Use Access Points for multi-tenant isolation
Each tenant gets their own root directory - 3Enable audit logging
Track who accesses what and when - 4Use IAM policies for management access
Separate admin and read-only roles - 5Enable automated snapshots
Protect against accidental deletion - 6Configure cross-region replication for critical data
Ensure business continuity
Choose the Right Storage
File Storage vs. Other Options
| Feature | File Storage (NFS) | Block Storage | Object Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access Method | Mount as file system | Attach as disk | API (S3) |
| Shared Access | ✓ Yes (RWX) | ✗ Single attach | ✓ Yes (API) |
| File System | ✓ POSIX | ✓ Any (ext4, xfs) | ✗ None |
| Protocol | NFS v4.1 | Block device | HTTPS |
| Latency | 1-10 ms | <1 ms | 10-100 ms |
| Throughput | Up to 10 GB/s | Up to 1 GB/s | Unlimited |
| Max Capacity | 1 PB | 16 TB/volume | Unlimited |
| Scaling | Automatic | Manual resize | Automatic |
| Use Cases | Shared data, CMS, K8s RWX | Databases, boot volumes | Backups, static files |
| Starting Price | $0.12/GB | $0.10/GB | $0.02/GB |
✓ USE FILE STORAGE WHEN:
- • Multiple instances need to read/write the same files
- • You need a standard file system interface (ls, cp, mv, etc.)
- • You're running containers that need ReadWriteMany (RWX) volumes
- • You want storage that scales automatically
- • You don't want to manage storage infrastructure
- • You need POSIX permissions and file locking
⚠ CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES WHEN:
- • You need lowest latency for databases (use Block Storage)
- • You're storing backups or archives (use Object or Infrequent Access)
- • You're serving static website content (use Object Storage + CDN)
- • Each instance needs dedicated storage (use Block Storage)
Comparison with Competitors
| Feature | Lineserve File Storage | AWS EFS | Azure Files | GCP Filestore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Price | ✓ $0.12/GB | $0.30/GB | $0.10/GB | $0.20/GB |
| Performance Price | ✓ $0.20/GB | $0.16/GB (One Zone) | $0.16/GB | $0.24/GB |
| Infrequent Access | ✓ $0.05/GB | $0.016/GB | N/A | N/A |
| Local Regions | ✓ 3 African DCs | ✗ 0 | ✗ 0 | ✗ 0 |
| Latency | ✓ 1-3 ms local | 50-100 ms | 50-100 ms | 50-100 ms |
| Multi-AZ | ✓ Yes | Yes | Yes (Premium) | No |
| Snapshots | ✓ $0.05/GB | $0.05/GB | Included | N/A |
| Max Throughput | 10 GB/s | 20 GB/s | 10 GB/s | 16 GB/s |
| Lifecycle Policies | ✓ Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Local Support | ✓ 24/7 local | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
What Our Customers Say
"We migrated our WordPress multisite with 50+ sites to Lineserve File Storage. All web servers now share the same uploads folder instantly. No more rsync jobs or file sync issues."
"We needed ReadWriteMany volumes for our microservices. Lineserve File Storage's Kubernetes CSI driver made it seamless. Our pods share configuration and data without any custom solutions."
"Our rendering farm has 100 nodes that all need access to the same project files. Performance class gives us the throughput we need to keep all nodes busy without I/O bottlenecks."
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this product
Getting Started
Infrastructure
Technical
Features
Integration
Configuration
Reliability
Backup
Performance
Billing
Complete Your Storage Solution
Block Storage
High-performance SSD volumes for single-instance workloads like databases. Up to 64,000 IOPS with NVMe.
Object Storage
S3-compatible object storage for backups, static content, and unstructured data. Unlimited scale at $0.02/GB.
Archive Storage
Low-cost cold storage for long-term retention. Store compliance data and archives at just $0.01/GB.
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