Kakao Enterprise has introduced a cloud storage operations technique that maintains high disk utilization while curbing data processing latency amid rising SSD prices. The approach separates original data and metadata storage areas within a single SSD to reduce bottlenecks caused by disk fragmentation.<\/p>\n
The company unveiled its large-scale storage optimization case study for Kakao Cloud at “KCD x Ceph x OpenInfra Day Korea 2026,” a cloud open-source conference held on September 2 in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The event was co-hosted by Kubernetes, Ceph\u2014an open-source distributed storage platform\u2014and OpenInfra, an open infrastructure technology community, with cloud experts from South Korea and abroad sharing technical insights and field experience.<\/p>\n
Park Chan-young, manager of the IAM & Storage Development Team, presented the case under the theme “BlueStore Optimization Unshaken by Disk Utilization.” BlueStore is the storage engine within Ceph that handles data storage and management.<\/p>\n
As SSD prices rise and enterprises seek to use existing resources more efficiently, higher disk utilization can lead to fragmentation, where data and free space become scattered across multiple locations. This increases latency because read and write operations must search multiple locations.<\/p>\n
Kakao Cloud noted that block storage experiences frequent updates not only to original data but also to metadata containing data location information. In response, the company applied a partitioning technique that divides original data and metadata areas within a single SSD, and configured separate space allocators for each area. As a result, the company was able to maintain high disk utilization while securing low latency.<\/p>\n
The presentation comes at a time when efficient storage resource utilization has become critical amid a market environment where NAND flash memory and SSD prices have risen sharply. Kakao Enterprise has been sharing related technology and operational experience at events including OpenInfra Day Korea and the OpenInfra Summit, which draws developers from around the world.<\/p>\n
“With NAND flash memory and SSD prices based on it rising significantly recently, enterprises are seeking to use memory and disk resources more efficiently,” said Manager Park. “We are taking proactive measures to alleviate bottlenecks caused by disk fragmentation and secure low latency.”<\/p>\n