What
is Network Attached Storage (NAS)?
A
Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliance is a server dedicated
to data storage that is set up with its own network address rather
then being attached to an application or database server serving
network clients.
By
removing storage access and its management from the application
and database servers, it eliminates the competition for the same
processor's resources.
NAS
is a hard disk storage, including multi-disk RAID storage systems,
and software for configuring and mapping file locations to the
network.
The
key benefit of NAS is the ability to consolidate structured and
unstructured data into a file-sharing environment that utilizes
the existing IP infrastructure. Since NAS clients rarely require
any additional hardware to access data, the initial investment
is contained to the NAS array itself.
What
you find is that most NAS environments are self-contained and
do not require any additional software for basic functionality.
NAS
appliances integrate into a wide variety of environments rather
easily, allowing multiple, simultaneous access from disparate
computing platforms (WIndows, Linux, Apple, etc.) using a myriad
of file sharing protocols (NFS, CIFS, etc.). Adding capacity is
easier too, as Syritex™ LyraLogix®
server requires only a short downtime to plug in a new shelves
of disks. For the most part there are no specialized skills to
run a Syritex™ LyraLogix®
server. |
