Choosing Storage on a VPS: NVMe Block Storage vs Object Storage vs NFS

When you rent a VPS, most of the attention goes to CPU and RAM. But in real-world projects, storage design is what often decides whether your application feels snappy, scales cleanly, and survives incidents without data loss. On a single VPS you can combine several storage types: ultra-fast NVMe block storage attached to the server, object storage reachable over HTTP(S), and network file storage such as NFS. Each behaves very differently, and using the wrong one for the wrong job leads to slow queries, corrupted files, or unexpectedly high bills.

In this article, we will look at NVMe block storage, object storage and NFS from the perspective of a VPS hosted at dchost.com. We will focus on practical questions: Which storage should keep your databases? Where should you put user uploads? How do you store backups without wasting expensive NVMe space? By the end, you will be able to sketch a concrete storage layout for your VPS and know exactly when each option makes sense.

Core Storage Concepts on a VPS

Before choosing between NVMe block storage, object storage and NFS, it helps to be clear on what each of them actually is and how the operating system sees them.

Block Storage (Local or Network)

Block storage is what Linux expects for its main disks. The operating system sees a block device (for example /dev/nvme0n1), you create partitions and filesystems on it, and you mount those filesystems as directories like /, /home, or /var. Reads and writes happen in fixed-size blocks, not as whole files.

On a VPS at dchost.com this typically means fast local NVMe SSD-based storage. It can also mean network-attached block volumes, but they are still exposed to the VM as a block device and mounted as a normal filesystem. Block storage is what you want for:

• Operating system and application code
• Databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, etc.)
• Anything requiring low latency and strong consistency

For a deeper comparison of disk technologies, you can read our guide on NVMe SSD vs SATA SSD vs HDD for hosting, backups and archives.

Object Storage

Object storage is fundamentally different. Instead of mounting a disk, you talk to a service over HTTP(S) using an API that lets you store and retrieve objects (files) in buckets. Objects are identified by a key (a string path) rather than directories and inodes.

Key properties of object storage:

• Access via HTTP(S) or S3-compatible APIs, not as a native POSIX filesystem
• Very high durability thanks to replication across multiple disks and often multiple servers
• Massive scalability for terabytes or petabytes of data
• Excellent for large files, backups, media and logs, not for databases

Because it is API-based and often geo-redundant, object storage is ideal for off-server backups and static assets. We cover the conceptual differences in more detail in our article Object Storage vs Block Storage vs File Storage for web apps and backups.

File Storage (NFS and Similar)

File storage exposes a remote filesystem that you mount into your VPS so it looks like a local directory. The most common protocol is NFS (Network File System). With NFS, a remote server exports a directory; your VPS mounts it, and your applications can read/write files there using normal POSIX calls.

Key properties of NFS-style storage:

• POSIX semantics: directories, permissions, file locks, symlinks
• Shared across multiple servers if more than one client mounts the same export
• Latency and throughput depend on the network and the NFS server
• Not a good idea for transactional databases; much better for shared assets

For multi-server setups and file sharing alternatives, we compared NFS vs SSHFS vs rsync for multi-server file sharing.

NVMe Block Storage on a VPS: When It Shines

On a modern VPS, NVMe block storage is your performance workhorse. NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a protocol designed specifically for SSDs, with parallel queues and very low latency. Compared to older SATA SSDs or spinning HDDs, NVMe easily delivers:

• Much higher IOPS (input/output operations per second)
• Lower latency for each read/write
• Higher throughput, especially with concurrent access

For applications, this translates into faster page loads, quicker queries and more stable performance under load — as long as you place the right workloads on NVMe.

Best Use Cases for NVMe Block Storage

You should prioritize NVMe block storage for workloads that are latency-sensitive and write-intensive:

• Databases and search engines: MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, etc.
• High-traffic CMS like WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Drupal and Laravel-based apps, especially their database/data directories
• Queue systems and caches with on-disk persistence (e.g. Redis with AOF/RDB, certain message brokers, some analytics engines)
• System and application logs if you analyze them frequently on the same server
• Containers and images if you run Docker/Podman and rebuild images often

On a dchost.com VPS, a good starting layout is:

• Root filesystem (/) on NVMe
• Database data directories (/var/lib/mysql, /var/lib/postgresql, etc.) on a dedicated NVMe partition or logical volume
• Application code under /var/www or similar, also on NVMe

How Much NVMe Capacity Do You Really Need?

With NVMe, the main constraint is cost per GB compared to slower storage types. You want enough space for:

• The operating system and packages (5–10 GB for a lean Linux with common services)
• Databases with room to grow (often 2–3× today’s size to avoid emergency migrations)
• Application code, vendor libraries and caches
• Short-term logs and temporary files

Media libraries, long-term logs and historical backups do not need to live on expensive NVMe. Offload them to object storage or slower archival storage; we will detail that below and also in our guide on hot, cold and archive storage strategy for backups with NVMe, SATA and object storage.

Pros and Cons of NVMe Block Storage

Advantages:

• Best performance and lowest latency for databases and dynamic workloads
• Simplest to use: standard Linux filesystems, no code changes needed
• Predictable behavior under load if you size IOPS and CPU correctly

Trade-offs:

• Higher cost per GB compared to object storage or HDD-based archival tiers
• Data is tied to the VPS; if you lose the VM or disk, you must restore from backups
• Not ideal for huge rarely-accessed archives; you will waste fast storage on cold data

Object Storage: Offloading Bulk and Cold Data

Object storage complements NVMe beautifully. Instead of treating it as a slower disk, think of it as a durable, scalable, low-maintenance warehouse for big files and long-term data. You access it over HTTPS using tools, SDKs or plugins, rather than mount commands.

Best Use Cases for Object Storage

On a VPS, object storage is ideal for:

• Backups: full server backups, database dumps, configuration archives
• Media libraries: images, videos, PDFs and downloads for CMS and e-commerce
• Log archiving: gzipped logs exported from your VPS for long retention
• Static site assets: CSS/JS bundles, static HTML exports, front-end build artifacts
• User-generated content that does not require POSIX semantics (e.g. uploaded files accessed via URLs)

This is why many teams pair a dchost.com VPS with an S3-compatible object storage service: the VPS runs the dynamic logic; object storage keeps the heavy and long-lived data safe and cheap.

Typical Patterns for Using Object Storage

1. Backups from the VPS to Object Storage

A common pattern is:

1. Take local backups on NVMe (e.g. database dumps, tar or snapshot-based backups).
2. Compress and encrypt them if needed.
3. Sync them to object storage using tools like rclone, restic or custom scripts.
4. Apply lifecycle rules: keep daily backups for X days, weekly for Y weeks, monthly for Z months.

We described a hands-on approach in our guide on automating off-site backups to object storage with rclone, restic and cron. That architecture works equally well on a single VPS or a fleet of servers.

2. Moving Media and Downloads Off the VPS

Large media libraries quickly eat NVMe capacity and slow down filesystem operations like backups and snapshots. Offloading them to object storage has two clear wins:

• You free up NVMe space for databases and code.
• You can serve media more efficiently via CDN directly from object storage.

For common CMS platforms like WordPress, WooCommerce or Magento, there are plugins that automatically upload new media to S3-compatible storage and rewrite URLs. We explored this pattern step-by-step in our article on S3/MinIO media offload for WordPress, WooCommerce and Magento.

3. Log and Analytics Archives

Short-term logs (journalctl, Nginx/Apache logs, application logs) should live on NVMe for fast access and troubleshooting. But for anything older than a few days or weeks, object storage is a much better fit:

• Ship gzipped or JSON logs to object storage on a schedule.
• Optionally partition by date (logs/yyyy/mm/dd/) for easier querying.
• Set lifecycle policies to transition to cheaper archival storage after a certain age.

We covered design ideas in our post about log archiving strategy on cPanel and VPS with gzip, object storage and retention.

Pros and Cons of Object Storage

Advantages:

• Extremely durable; designed so individual disk failures do not cost you data
• Scales to very large sizes without redesigning your VPS filesystem
• Cheaper per GB than high-end NVMe space
• Lifecycle policies and versioning reduce operational overhead

Trade-offs:

• Access over HTTP(S) adds latency and requires application awareness or plugins
• Not suitable for transactional databases or workloads expecting POSIX file semantics
• Depending on provider, frequent small object operations can have cost implications

The sweet spot is using object storage for large, relatively static, or append-only data, while keeping hot, transactional data on NVMe.

NFS and Network File Storage: Shared Files for Multiple Servers

NFS-based file storage occupies a middle ground between NVMe block storage and object storage. It gives you a shared POSIX filesystem accessible from multiple servers, which is very convenient for legacy applications and certain cluster patterns.

Best Use Cases for NFS on or Around a VPS

• Multiple web servers sharing user uploads, e.g. a WordPress cluster where all instances need to see the same wp-content/uploads directory.
• Centralized home directories for shell users, CI agents or development VMs.
• Legacy applications built around shared filesystems, not object storage APIs.
• Simple content sharing between several application servers without changing code.

On a single VPS, NFS is less common; you are more likely to use it when you have multiple VPS instances and want a shared storage layer that feels like a regular filesystem.

When NFS Is Not a Good Fit

NFS is convenient, but it is not a silver bullet:

• It is usually a bad idea to put relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.) on NFS: latency and locking behavior can cause corruption and terrible performance.
• It introduces a new single point of failure and bottleneck if you rely too heavily on one NFS server.
• Performance under heavy parallel writes is often worse than local NVMe or even object storage with proper caching.

If you are considering NFS, it is worth reading our comparison of NFS vs SSHFS vs rsync for multi-server file sharing to understand strengths and limitations.

Pros and Cons of NFS-Style Storage

Advantages:

• Standard POSIX filesystem semantics; minimal code changes for existing apps
• Shared across multiple VPS instances, suitable for certain cluster patterns
• Familiar tools (rsync, shell utilities) work out of the box

Trade-offs:

• Network latency and bandwidth can become a bottleneck
• Not appropriate for high-write transactional databases
• Requires you to manage and secure the NFS server itself

NVMe vs Object Storage vs NFS by Workload

Let us map common VPS workloads to the most appropriate storage type. In many cases, you will combine two or even all three.

Designing a Mixed Storage Layout on a Single VPS

Most real setups on dchost.com use a mix of NVMe, object storage and sometimes NFS. Here is how you can structure things on a single VPS with external services.

Scenario 1: High-Traffic WordPress / WooCommerce VPS

Assume you run a busy WordPress or WooCommerce store on one VPS.

• NVMe block storage:
  • OS and packages on /
  • Nginx/Apache, PHP-FPM and cache directories
  • MySQL/MariaDB data directory on a separate NVMe volume/partition
  • Recent logs (last 7–14 days)
• Object storage:
  • All media uploads (wp-content/uploads) offloaded via a plugin
  • Daily database dumps synced to a backup bucket
  • Weekly full-site archives (files + DB) stored with lifecycle rules
• NFS (optional):
  • Only if you later scale to multiple VPS web nodes that must see the same non-offloaded files.

This setup keeps your NVMe focused on what it is best at: dynamic PHP and database workloads. Object storage handles everything bulky and long-lived.

Scenario 2: SaaS API + Background Workers

Imagine a Laravel or Node.js API with heavy background jobs (queues, reports, exports).

• NVMe block storage:
  • API code, dependencies and build artifacts
  • Primary database and Redis (if you use AOF/RDB persistence)
  • Short-lived export files before they are uploaded to object storage
• Object storage:
  • Final export files and reports delivered to users
  • Analytics snapshots and historical raw data dumps
  • Daily/weekly encrypted backups from both database and application
• NFS: probably not needed unless you purposely share files between multiple app servers.

Here, object storage is part of your product: users may download from it directly via pre-signed URLs, while your VPS focuses on compute and hot data.

Scenario 3: VPS as a Backup & Archive Hub

Sometimes a VPS at dchost.com is used mainly as a central place to collect and process backups from other servers or on-prem systems.

• NVMe block storage:
  • Short-term staging area for incoming backups
  • Local repository for tools like restic or Borg for fast restore tests
• Object storage:
  • Long-term backup storage with versioning and object lock (if available)
  • Separate buckets per environment or client
• NFS:
  • Optional for exposing a subset of archives to other systems that need direct file access.

This pattern is exactly where a hot/cold/archive model makes sense: hot backups on NVMe for quick restores, cold backups on object storage for cost efficiency, and possibly a deeper archive tier. We explored that in detail in our article about hot, cold and archive storage strategies with NVMe, SATA and object storage.

Planning for Resilience, Performance and Cost

Choosing where to place which data type is only half the story. You also need to think in terms of resilience (what happens if something dies), performance (how fast things feel), and cost (what you pay monthly).

Resilience: Avoid Single Points of Failure

• NVMe block storage: assume the VPS disk can fail. Mitigate with regular backups to object storage and restore drills.
• Object storage: check durability guarantees and region setup. Use versioning and (where available) object lock for ransomware resistance.
• NFS: think about redundancy for the NFS server; if it is offline, all clients feel it immediately.

Whichever combination you choose, test restoring a full backup to a fresh dchost.com VPS at least a few times a year to prove the design works.

Performance: Put Hot Data Close to the CPU

A good rule of thumb is: the hotter and more transactional the data, the closer it should live to the CPU, i.e. on local NVMe:

• Primary database tables, active queues and session data: NVMe
• User uploads and reports that are read infrequently: object storage
• Shared but not latency-critical assets: NFS or object storage behind a CDN

Measure real performance with tools like iostat, iotop, htop and application-level metrics; adjust where necessary. If you see high IOwait on the VPS, prioritizing NVMe and offloading cold data will usually make an immediate difference.

Cost: Use the Right Tier for the Right Lifetime

You do not want to pay NVMe prices to store three-year-old logs or ancient media no one downloads anymore. A practical approach:

• Keep only the last N days of logs and temporary files on NVMe.
• Move older logs, backups and media to object storage with lifecycle policies.
• For truly archival data, consider deeper cold tiers if your object storage provider offers them.

This tiered design lets you choose a dchost.com VPS plan with enough NVMe for hot data, while your overall storage costs stay predictable thanks to object storage and smart retention.

Putting It All Together

On a modern VPS, there is no single “best” storage type. NVMe block storage, object storage and NFS each solve different problems, and the strongest architectures combine them:

• Use NVMe block storage for your operating system, application code, databases and other hot, latency-sensitive workloads.
• Use object storage for backups, archives, media libraries, static assets and any large data that does not require POSIX semantics.
• Use NFS or similar file storage when you truly need a shared filesystem across multiple VPS instances — and only after ruling out simpler patterns like media offload.

When you plan a new project or a migration to a dchost.com VPS, sketch your storage layout explicitly: which directories live on NVMe, which buckets you will create in object storage, and whether you really need an NFS share. Align that with your performance goals and backup policy, and you will avoid the usual pain points of running out of disk, suffering random slowdowns, or realizing too late that your backups were incomplete.

If you want help mapping these ideas to a concrete dchost.com VPS or dedicated server plan, our team can review your workloads, traffic profile and data growth expectations with you and propose a storage layout that balances performance, durability and cost — without overcomplicating your stack.