How do I use S3QL to mount object storage containers?

Overview

S3QL is the Python utility that QuantaStor uses to mount its cloud containers. If you don't have a QuantaStor appliance or wish to manage your endpoints manually, then you can install and use the S3QL utility. S3QL supports a wide range of features including: data-deduplication, compression, encryption, and caching. The following example uses Ubuntu 14.04. Your instructions may vary depending on your distribution.

Advantages: Advanced features (encryption, compression, dedup, local caching), highly configurable (cache size, compression method)
Disadvantages: Object storage containers cannot be shared by multiple hosts, No graphical interface
Use Cases: Integrated solutions, permanent storage mounts

Mount container with S3QL

  1. Open a new terminal and install S3QL (these command are for Ubuntu, your distribution's commands may vary):
    apt-get install software-properties-common
    apt-add-repository ppa:nikratio/s3ql
    apt-get update
    apt-get install s3ql
  2. Create a directory to store your credentials:
    mkdir ~/.s3ql && touch ~/.s3ql/authinfo2
    chmod 600 ~/.s3ql/authinfo2
  3. Open the newly created file using your favorite editor and add the following information: 
    	[swift]
	backend-login: 
	backend-password: 
	storage-url:
    Example: 
    	[swift]
	 backend-login: IBMOS278685-10:sesson 
	 backend-password: #########################
	 storage-url: swift://
  4. Create a new Object Storage container for your S3QL file system.
  5. Make your new S3QL file system:
    mkfs.s3ql swift://:443/
    Example: mkfs.s3ql swift://tor01.objectstorage.softlayer.net:443/s3qltest
  6. Create a new mountpoint for your file system: mkdir /mnt/s3ql
  7. Mount your file system:
    mount.s3ql swift://:443/
    Example: mount.s3ql swift://tor01.objectstorage.softlayer.net:443/s3qltest /mnt/s3qltest