Network Attached Storage Devices

Holy cow! You have lots of files to store and you’re rapidly running out of room. But it’s not just a case of adding another hard drive to your desktop system. You’re way beyond that. Those monstrous files need to be accessible to the entire network. It’s time to take the bull by the horns and step up to a serious network storage device …

Start by nailing down your exact needs.

How much storage? What type of backup? Will a basic network-attached storage (NAS) device handle the load or will you need to pony up for a storage area network (SAN)? Where's the money coming from and how much do you have to spend?

Microsoft defines a storage area network as:

A specialized network that provides access to high performance and highly available storage subsystems using block storage protocols. The SAN is made up of specific devices, such as host bus adapters (HBAs) in the host servers, switches that help route storage traffic, and disk storage subsystems. The main characteristic of a SAN is that the storage subsystems are generally available to multiple hosts at the same time, which makes them scalable and flexible.

In short: SANs are big and fast and they're priced accordingly. A high performance fiber channel sub-network (with all the goodies) doesn't come cheap. A home SAN would be overkill, unless of course, you're Bill Gates.

Network-attached storage devices are far more modest by comparison. You might think of network-attached storage devices simply as standalone dedicated servers with (most often) numerous hard drives in a RAID configuration.

Or as Microsoft puts it:

A NAS device is a server that runs an operating system specifically designed for handling files (rather than block data). Network-attached storage is accessible directly on the local area network (LAN) through LAN protocols such as TCP/IP.

I stuck out my neck a while back and wrote:

In the near future, RAID Arrays will be as common in the connected home as the refrigerator is today. With an ever-burgeoning number of big beefy files to store, families will turn to home RAID units to safeguard their digital movies, music, and family memories.

Taking a deeper look into the networked home entertainment crystal ball, it's safe to say that some form of rackmount system isn't blue sky. Imagine your house with a nice quiet server closet and an ultra-beefy UPS to get you through the worst of those pesky power outages ...

Originally appeared in Lockergnome, 10-11-2005 in my Technobabble channel.

Posted by geekbooks at November 8, 2005 11:25 AM

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