Storage Architecture

Many different forms of mass storage exist. The two most commonly used forms are hard disks and tape. Hard drives and tape drives can exist either internal or external to a computer system. External hard drives are generally housed in an enclosing device that can accommodate multiple disks, and are sometimes referred to as JBODs (Just a Bunch Of Disks). These disk arrays are self-contained units that provide cooling and power to the hard disks.

JBODs can be connected in several different ways and can utilize any of the three interfaces previously discussed. They can attach directly to a server, or to a network, or they can be isolated to their own network. Tape backups can also be affected by the different types of storage architectures.

Section Objectives

After completion of this module, you will be able to:

Describe Direct Attached Storage, the hardware required, and how this architecture affects tape backup.
Describe Network Attached Storage, its benefits, and how this architecture affects tape backup.
Describe a Storage Area Network, the hardware required, its benefits, and how this architecture affects tape backup.