What is Network Storage?
Network storage devices are optimized for data management tasks. These devices are attached to the corporate network (see Figure 1) and can be accessed from networked applications throughout the enterprise. Four key benefits of network storage are: • Data Sharing: Network storage enables disk storage to be consolidated and pooled into a shared network resource that can be accessed by clients and servers anywhere in the network. This architecture provides a great deal of flexibility for optimizing enterprise-wide disk space and I/O requirements. The separation of storage management from application and database servers also allows data storage upgrade decisions to be separated from server upgrade decisions, thus providing a flexible deployment environment. • Simplicity: Network storage is simple to implement and administer and can be integrated into an existing network infrastructure with minimal cost. A subsequent discussion will show that the ability to realize this benefit will vary
A network storage system helps organize and save critical information created on a computer in an efficient and accessible manner. The most basic form of network storage is saving a computer’s content to a disk or CD-Rom and storing it somewhere safe. This method works well if the information does not need to be changed frequently, but that is rarely the case. Generally, a user needs to change and update files often. Therefore, backing up a person’s computer files on disk can be time consuming and inconvenient. Direct Attached Storage (DAS) refers to a network storage system on which data is saved to a computer’s internal hard drive. These files are saved directly onto the computer’s disk space and can be readily pulled up at any time. This is the most commonly used means of network storage, though it can also become the most bothersome, as disk space on the computer gets used up, slowing the computer down. Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a type of network storage system that saves d
Network storage means that your data storage devices (i.e. hard drives) are accessible over a network. There is an increasing trend to store data on external disks connected only via a computer network. The storage could either be on a local home or office network, or it might be even be on the global Internet. The ability to make your data accessible via a network used to be a technique available only to a large organization or business. In recent years this has changed so much that network storage now is easily available to the home or small business user.
