========================== Installing Ceph Components ========================== Storage clusters are the foundation of the Ceph system. Ceph storage hosts provide object storage. Clients access the Ceph storage cluster directly from an application (using ``librados``), over an object storage protocol such as Amazon S3 or OpenStack Swift (using ``radosgw``), or with a block device (using ``rbd``). To begin using Ceph, you must first set up a storage cluster. The following sections provide guidance for configuring a storage cluster and installing Ceph components: 1. :doc:`Hardware Recommendations <hardware_recommendations>` 2. :doc:`File System Recommendations <file_system_recommendations>` 3. :doc:`Download Ceph Packages <download_packages>` 4. :doc:`Building Ceph from Source <building_ceph_from_source>` .. toctree:: :hidden: Hardware Recs <hardware_recommendations> File System Recs <file_system_recommendations> Download Packages <download_packages> Build From Source <building_ceph_from_source>