Nas
Content
DEFINITION
network-attached storage (NAS)
Network-attached storage (NAS) is a type of dedicated file storage device that
provides local-area network local area network (LAN) nodes with file-based
shared storagethrough a standard Ethernet connection.
Hot data storage market technology trends for 2016
NAS devices, which typically do not have a keyboard or display, are
configured and managed with a browser-based utility program. Each NAS
resides on the LAN as an independent network node and has its own IP
address.
Netgear is just one of several popular NAS vendors.
An important benefit of NAS is its ability to provide multiple clients on the
network with access to the same files. Prior to NAS, enterprises typically had
hundreds or even thousands of discrete file servers that had to be separately
configured and maintained. Today, when more storage capacity is
required, NAS appliances can simply be outfitted with larger disks
or clustered together to provide both vertical scalability and horizontal
scalability. Many NAS vendors partner with cloud storage providers to provide
customers with an extra layer of redundancy for backing up files.
NAS use cases
In the home, NASes are often used for storing and serving multimedia files
and forautomated backups. Many smart homes rely on NAS to
provide centralized storage forsmart TVs, security systems and other Internet
of Things (IoT) components in the home.
In the enterprise, a NAS array can be used as a backup target
for archiving and disaster recovery. If a NAS device has a server mode, it can
also function as an email, multimedia, database or print server for a small
business. Some higher-end NAS products can hold enough disks to
support RAID, a storage technology that turns multiple hard disks into one
logical unit in order to provide better performance times, high
availability andredundancy.
net
work-attached storage
NAS product categories
NAS devices are grouped in three broad categories based on the number of
drives, drive support, drive capacity and scalability.
High-end or enterprise NAS: The high end of the market is driven by
businesses that need to store huge amounts of files, including virtual machine
(VM) images. High-end NAS provides rapid access and NAS
clustering capabilities.
Midmarket NAS: This end of the market can accomodate businesses that
require several hundred terabytes of data. Midmarket NAS devices cannot be
clustered, however, which can create file-system siloes when multiple NAS
devices are required.
Low-end or desktop NAS: The low end of the market is aimed at small
businesses and home users who require local shared storage. Increasingly,
this market is shifting toward a cloud NAS model.
Ty
pes of NAS
NAS deployments for business
The chart below describes five different ways network-attached storage can be
deployed and lists the pros and cons for each approach. Each deployment can
easily be managed by a single network manager.
NA
S approaches: Pros and cons
Evolution of NAS
Over time, the baseline functionality of NAS devices has broadened to
support virtualization. High-end NAS products may also support data
deduplication, flash storage, multiprotocol access and replication.
To combat NAS sprawl, vendors are offering clustered NAS systems. A
clustered NAS system is a distributed file system that runs concurrently on
multiple NAS nodes. Clustering provides access to all files from any of the
clustered nodes regardless of the physical location of the file.
Some NAS devices run a standard operating system (OS) such as Microsoft
Windows, while others may run the vendor's proprietary operating system.
Although the Internet Protocol (IP) is the most common data
transport protocol, some mid-market NAS products may support the Network
File System (NFS), Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), NetBIOS Extended
User Interface (NetBEUI) or Common Internet File System (CIFS)
protocols. High-end NAS products may support Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) for
even faster data transfer across the network.
Traditional NAS vs. scale-out NAS
In a traditional network-attached storage deployment, the NAS head -- which
is the hardware that performs the NAS control functions -- provides access to
back-end storage through an Internet connection. Scale-out NAS simply
means that the storage administrator has installed larger heads and additional
hard disks to boost storage capacity.
NAS vs. DAS
Direct-attached storage (DAS) is storage on a dedicated server or storage
device that is not networked. In order to access files stored on direct-attached
storage, the end user must have physical access to the device where the files
are stored. The advantage of DAS is that it can provide end users with better
performance than NAS, which is important for compute-intensive software
programs. The disadvantage of DAS is that it requires the storage on each
device to be managed separately, which can complicate the way files are
managed and shared.
NAS vs. SAN
A storage-area network (SAN) organizes storage resouces on an
independent, high-performance network. The key distinction between NAS
and SANs is that network-attached storage handles input/output (I/O) requests
for individual files, whereas a storage-area network manages I/O requests
for contiguous blocks of data. Today, some SANs can transport data over a
standard Ethernet connection, but most often storage area networks use
the Fibre Channel protocol, which was developed specifically for high-speed
data transport on storage-area networks.
SAN/NAS convergence
Until recently, technological barriers have kept the file and block storage
worlds separate, each in its own management domain and each with its own
strengths and weaknesses. Many storage managers view block storage as
first class and file storage as economy class. Given the prevalence of
business-critical databases housed on storage area networks (SANs), that's
understandable.
Should network-attached storage
vendors be worried about the cloud?
3 Responses
Join the Discussion
Today, vendors are seeking to improve large-scale file storage by drawing
these two worlds together with a hybrid SAN/NAS solution that allows
companies to consolidate block- and file-based data on the same storage
arrays. Companies that are looking to combine SAN and NAS operations have
a sometimes bewildering number of choices, including standalone NAS
gateways, SAN solutions with integrated NAS functionality and NAS devices
that allow block I/O and filer I/O to run within the same set ofswitches.
network-attached storage (NAS)
Network-attached storage (NAS) is a type of dedicated file storage device that
provides local-area network local area network (LAN) nodes with file-based
shared storagethrough a standard Ethernet connection.
Hot data storage market technology trends for 2016
NAS devices, which typically do not have a keyboard or display, are
configured and managed with a browser-based utility program. Each NAS
resides on the LAN as an independent network node and has its own IP
address.
Netgear is just one of several popular NAS vendors.
An important benefit of NAS is its ability to provide multiple clients on the
network with access to the same files. Prior to NAS, enterprises typically had
hundreds or even thousands of discrete file servers that had to be separately
configured and maintained. Today, when more storage capacity is
required, NAS appliances can simply be outfitted with larger disks
or clustered together to provide both vertical scalability and horizontal
scalability. Many NAS vendors partner with cloud storage providers to provide
customers with an extra layer of redundancy for backing up files.
NAS use cases
In the home, NASes are often used for storing and serving multimedia files
and forautomated backups. Many smart homes rely on NAS to
provide centralized storage forsmart TVs, security systems and other Internet
of Things (IoT) components in the home.
In the enterprise, a NAS array can be used as a backup target
for archiving and disaster recovery. If a NAS device has a server mode, it can
also function as an email, multimedia, database or print server for a small
business. Some higher-end NAS products can hold enough disks to
support RAID, a storage technology that turns multiple hard disks into one
logical unit in order to provide better performance times, high
availability andredundancy.
net
work-attached storage
NAS product categories
NAS devices are grouped in three broad categories based on the number of
drives, drive support, drive capacity and scalability.
High-end or enterprise NAS: The high end of the market is driven by
businesses that need to store huge amounts of files, including virtual machine
(VM) images. High-end NAS provides rapid access and NAS
clustering capabilities.
Midmarket NAS: This end of the market can accomodate businesses that
require several hundred terabytes of data. Midmarket NAS devices cannot be
clustered, however, which can create file-system siloes when multiple NAS
devices are required.
Low-end or desktop NAS: The low end of the market is aimed at small
businesses and home users who require local shared storage. Increasingly,
this market is shifting toward a cloud NAS model.
Ty
pes of NAS
NAS deployments for business
The chart below describes five different ways network-attached storage can be
deployed and lists the pros and cons for each approach. Each deployment can
easily be managed by a single network manager.
NA
S approaches: Pros and cons
Evolution of NAS
Over time, the baseline functionality of NAS devices has broadened to
support virtualization. High-end NAS products may also support data
deduplication, flash storage, multiprotocol access and replication.
To combat NAS sprawl, vendors are offering clustered NAS systems. A
clustered NAS system is a distributed file system that runs concurrently on
multiple NAS nodes. Clustering provides access to all files from any of the
clustered nodes regardless of the physical location of the file.
Some NAS devices run a standard operating system (OS) such as Microsoft
Windows, while others may run the vendor's proprietary operating system.
Although the Internet Protocol (IP) is the most common data
transport protocol, some mid-market NAS products may support the Network
File System (NFS), Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), NetBIOS Extended
User Interface (NetBEUI) or Common Internet File System (CIFS)
protocols. High-end NAS products may support Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) for
even faster data transfer across the network.
Traditional NAS vs. scale-out NAS
In a traditional network-attached storage deployment, the NAS head -- which
is the hardware that performs the NAS control functions -- provides access to
back-end storage through an Internet connection. Scale-out NAS simply
means that the storage administrator has installed larger heads and additional
hard disks to boost storage capacity.
NAS vs. DAS
Direct-attached storage (DAS) is storage on a dedicated server or storage
device that is not networked. In order to access files stored on direct-attached
storage, the end user must have physical access to the device where the files
are stored. The advantage of DAS is that it can provide end users with better
performance than NAS, which is important for compute-intensive software
programs. The disadvantage of DAS is that it requires the storage on each
device to be managed separately, which can complicate the way files are
managed and shared.
NAS vs. SAN
A storage-area network (SAN) organizes storage resouces on an
independent, high-performance network. The key distinction between NAS
and SANs is that network-attached storage handles input/output (I/O) requests
for individual files, whereas a storage-area network manages I/O requests
for contiguous blocks of data. Today, some SANs can transport data over a
standard Ethernet connection, but most often storage area networks use
the Fibre Channel protocol, which was developed specifically for high-speed
data transport on storage-area networks.
SAN/NAS convergence
Until recently, technological barriers have kept the file and block storage
worlds separate, each in its own management domain and each with its own
strengths and weaknesses. Many storage managers view block storage as
first class and file storage as economy class. Given the prevalence of
business-critical databases housed on storage area networks (SANs), that's
understandable.
Should network-attached storage
vendors be worried about the cloud?
3 Responses
Join the Discussion
Today, vendors are seeking to improve large-scale file storage by drawing
these two worlds together with a hybrid SAN/NAS solution that allows
companies to consolidate block- and file-based data on the same storage
arrays. Companies that are looking to combine SAN and NAS operations have
a sometimes bewildering number of choices, including standalone NAS
gateways, SAN solutions with integrated NAS functionality and NAS devices
that allow block I/O and filer I/O to run within the same set ofswitches.
