Storage Architecture

Network Attached

Networked storage is a different type of storage architecture than DAS. Networked storage devices connect directly to a LAN/WAN. There are two types of networked storage:

Network Attached Storage (NAS)
Storage Area Network (SAN)

These types of architectures go beyond simple hard disk expansion. They offer performance advantages over DAS and accessing data appears seamless to the enterprise.

Network Attached Storage

Direct-attached storage expansion can be time consuming for the IT staff and disruptive to users. NAS appliances offer a simple and economical way to quickly add storage. They connect to the network rather than to a server. NAS hardware has been streamlined by eliminating unneeded components. They also run a highly optimized operating system that typically has built in support for multiple networking protocols. NAS appliances are best suited for heterogeneous or mixed environments. Users cannot distinguish between accessing files on a server or on a NAS appliance.

Multi-platform Environment without NAS

This image shows a representation of a multi-platform environment without network-attached storage

Some LAN environments have a mixture of Windows®, Apple, NetWare®, or UNIX®/Linux systems. Configuring cross-platform file sharing can be a complicated task.

Multi-platform Environment with NAS

Dell NAS appliances have multi-protocol support, which includes CIFS, NFS, NCP, AppleTalk, HTTP, and FTP. This allows Windows, Apple, UNIX, and NetWare clients to access files on the same NAS appliance and can contribute to a lower cost of ownership.

This image displays a generic representation of a multi-platform NAS environment

NAS appliances are primarily used for file sharing; they are not intended for such tasks as domain controllers, DNS servers, or other specialized server roles.

Tape Backup

In a network-based backup, one server on the LAN is designated as a backup server. It can be a dedicated server used only for backup, or it can be any server on the network that has been designated to play the role of the backup server. This method provides a centrally managed backup environment. The backup server manages backups for all servers on the network; only a simple client agent must be installed on the remote backup clients. This architecture also supports heterogeneous environments since the backup clients do not necessarily have to be running the same operating system as the backup server.

Performance is the most limiting factor in a network-based backup. All data must flow through the LAN to be backed up, except for data on the backup server. Since most 10BaseT networks can sustain only about 1 GB to 2 GB per hour and most 100BaseT networks can sustain only about 15 GB to 20 GB per hour, this can become a huge bottleneck for large amounts of data for environments with a small backup window.