What is storage?
Storage is space for files, uploads, and backups, separate from the database.
What it is
Storage is the place for files. Uploads, images, exports, sometimes the backup copies too. The database holds the structured data: users, orders, rows with relations. Putting both in one pot gets tight quickly and is hard to back up.
The database holds the rows. Files people upload belong beside it, or they disappear with the next image.
What it is made of
A file has a name, a size, and contents. It lives on a disk, in an object store, or on a network drive. The app often remembers only the path or a key, not the file itself inside a table cell. Large files in the database make backups slow and restores awkward.
What goes wrong
Permissions belong to it. Not everyone who can see the site may download every file. An upload needs a limit on size and a type you accept. A public folder without a check becomes a drop box for other people’s files sooner or later.
What you otherwise look after yourself
Separate from the app server also means: when you rebuild the container, the files stay. If they only live in the container, they are gone after the next deploy.
How it shows up on MainPath
Every project needs that space, permissions on it, and a way to find files again. MainPath sets up the storage with the project, separate from the database.