What type of storage holds additional metadata accessible through APIs and potentially a web UI?

Object storage is characterized by its ability to hold data as discrete units called objects, which include not only the data itself but also metadata that describes the data. This metadata is typically stored alongside the data, making it easily accessible. Object storage allows for the management of this metadata in a way that enables advanced capabilities such as tagging, filtering, and more sophisticated search functionalities.

Furthermore, APIs play a crucial role in how object storage is accessed and managed. They allow developers to programmatically interact with the storage, retrieving or modifying both the objects and their associated metadata. Additionally, many object storage solutions come with a web user interface (UI) that provides a user-friendly way to manage stored objects, supporting tasks such as uploading, deleting or viewing metadata.

In contrast, block storage is designed to provide raw storage volumes that are used mainly for databases or system files, and while it can be attached to servers, it does not inherently include extensive metadata management capabilities through APIs or web UIs. File storage organizes data into a file hierarchy and is typically used in networked file sharing scenarios, lacking the scalability and metadata richness of object storage. Blob storage, while similar to object storage, can specifically refer to storing binary large objects, which may limit the contextual application of