Overview
ISO/IEC 17826:2022 - Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) Version 2.0.0 - defines a standard HTTP(S)-based API for accessing and managing cloud storage. Intended for developers and implementers, this International Standard (prepared by SNIA and adopted by ISO/IEC JTC 1) specifies how clients and cloud storage systems exchange data, metadata and management commands to enable interoperable cloud storage services.
Key topics and technical requirements
- CDMI Core and Advanced Interfaces: detailed object, container, domain, queue and capability object resource operations using both HTTP and CDMI payloads.
- HTTP support and verbs: specifies required HTTP(S) behavior and supports common verbs including PUT and PATCH for resource updates. Examples use /cdmi/v2.0.0/ root URI and HTTPS for secure transport.
- Metadata and access control: structured support for storage-system, data-system and user metadata plus a comprehensive access control model and delegated access control (DAC) extension.
- Data protection and encryption: includes the Encrypted Object extension, KMS integration guidance, and standard formats (CMS/JOSE) for encrypted objects and signatures.
- Data governance: retention, hold management, auto-deletion and retention security considerations for compliance and legal requirements.
- Versioning & snapshots: version-enabled data objects, snapshot creation/deletion and examples for traversing versions.
- Exported protocols & interoperability: guidance for exporting containers via NFS, SMB, iSCSI, WebDAV and OCCI to bridge object and file/block access.
- Queues, notifications & queries: notification and query queues, query extensions and result specification for event-driven and search use cases.
- Serialization / import-export: canonical formats and procedures for exporting and importing serialized data to support portability and vendor interoperability.
- Incorporated extensions: JSON Transfer Encoding, Delegated Access Control, Encrypted Object and several Annex extensions (e.g., group metadata, expiring access control entries).
Practical applications and users
Who uses ISO/IEC 17826:2022 (CDMI)?
- Cloud storage vendors implementing interoperable object storage APIs.
- Application developers building cloud-native apps that need standardized storage access.
- Enterprise architects & integrators designing multi-cloud or hybrid storage solutions and migration paths.
- Security and compliance teams implementing retention, hold, encryption and audit-aware storage.
Practical use cases include standardized object storage access, cross-vendor data portability, encrypted object storage with KMS, file export gateways (NFS/SMB), and automated retention workflows.
Related standards
- CDMI builds on standard HTTP/HTTPS practices and references RFCs for web protocols; it was prepared by SNIA and adopted as ISO/IEC JTC 1 standard. For implementation, review the ISO/IEC document and referenced RFCs for protocol specifics.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 17826:2022, CDMI, Cloud Data Management Interface, cloud storage API, object storage, encryption, access control, retention, snapshots.
