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How big a problem is data growth for the average enterprise? An IDC report states that in 2006, companies had two times the amount of storage they had in 2004, three times what they had in 2003, and a whopping 36 times what they had in 1971. For IT staff that means a lot of scrambling to protect valuable corporate data and to preserve availability of that data on demand.
The expedient answer isn’t always better for the long run
It’s tempting to add direct attached storage (DAS) to deal with the overflow of files, adding more drives to servers, but there are a few things to consider before adopting this approach. Take into account complexity. Adding multiple devices to serve one function means adding additional layers of management and additional opportunities for equipment failure and data loss.
This approach can also lead to ‘islands’ of DAS in which you can have one server and storage device that’s under-utilised, and another that’s over-utilised, with no way to share between.
Network attached storage – centralised, powerful file serving and storage
A NAS device is essentially a server that runs an operating system specifically tuned for handling file I/O traffic for network clients. Devoid of non-essential functions, NAS devices replace general-purpose servers for file serving and are often used to consolidate file sharing workload into a small number of dedicated machines.
NAS solutions communicate with other devices on the network through either iSCSI or Fibre Channel protocols, or over a standard Ethernet connection. iSCSI connections offer an ideal middle ground for businesses which generate too much traffic to communicate over a standard Ethernet connection, but which aren’t ready to invest in Fibre Channel.
iSCSI – ideal for file-level communication
iSCSI is a network block I/O protocol that runs on a traditional TCP/IP network, eliminating the need for specialised infrastructure. Communication between servers and storage in an iSCSI SAN occurs via an iSCSI initiator on the server and an iSCSI target on the network storage system. iSCSI initiators can be hardware or software based, and they are available from a number of vendors for a variety of operating systems.
Emerging protocols such as 10Gb Ethernet open up the ability for iSCSI SANs to combine the benefits of standard Ethernet infrastructure and high network performance. iSCSI can help reduce the cost of SAN implementations because it uses standard Ethernet infrastructure, but this does not in and of itself reduce the complexity of storage setup and management.
NAS can then be described as file-based data sharing and a SAN can be described as block-based storage device sharing. Unified storage or ‘NAS/SAN fusion’ are terms used to describe technologies that allow storage devices to perform two roles – both NAS and SAN with the same storage appliance. The benefits of unified storage are obvious: the flexibility to satisfy all of the diverse needs for storage from a single storage solution using a single set of management tools.
HP StorageWorks All-in-One Storage System – radically straightforward
The award-winning HP StorageWorks All-in-One Storage System (AiO) provides shared storage for application servers by acting as an iSCSI SAN. It also offers enhanced file serving for end-user clients by acting as a Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 powered NAS device, and supplies comprehensive data protection features to keep your data safe and secure. Most importantly, the AiO gives you all the benefits of network storage without requiring adding additional specialised staff.
There are three different AiO models to choose from:
- HP StorageWorks 400 All-in-One Storage System -This entry-level rackable all-in-one storage is an excellent solution if you need less than 1TB total raw capacity without the performance requirements of SAS.
- HP StorageWorks 600 All-in-One Storage System -This mid-range tower/rack all-in-one storage solution offers increased capacity, scalability, and hardware redundancy, and is available in both SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) configurations.
- HP StorageWorks 1200 All-in-One Storage System -This high capacity solution supplies increased performance and capacity from 12 internal drives and a high performance RAID controller, and is available in both SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) configurations.
Investigate all your AiO options at HP.com, and see how you can manage through your ongoing data explosion effectively, efficiently and affordably.
[1] Source: IDC 2006, External WW Disk Storage Systems Forecast in Million TB |
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