Nas

Introduction

Many small businesses today are working harder than ever to find new ways to reduce costs and streamline operations. At the same time, these companies are also generating more data throughout their organization than ever. The data must be protected while being more widely available. In the past, companies had only a few megabytes of storage on servers and desktop PCs to worry. If they were diligent, they have supported all day on the tape drives.

Today, companies are increasingly under pressure to ensure that the data they produce are protected and available upon request. Large companies use large-scale storage networking and data storage cluster to manage the farm and keep their data safe. But these solutions are too costly and complicated for the average small business.

What can a small organization that seeks a reliable, flexible, cost-effective storage solution? This article will examine the benefits for small businesses integration of Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions in their network infrastructure.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) Defined

Network Attached Storage (NAS) has been presented by Novell as a system of file sharing in 1983. Sun Microsystems has created the UNIX Network File System (NFS) protocol in 1984 which enabled servers networked storage systems to share with networked clients. The first dedicated NAS system was built by 3Com in 1985.

Today, a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system is actually a down server that is designed from the inside for high-performance file-based data storage on your network. NAS systems are shipped with all major components of a server: processor, motherboard, RAM, etc., and as a server, a NAS device is more reliable than its components, software and configuration. NAS come in a variety of types and sizes from simple standalone units for the PC at home networking and entertainment center, rack up high capacity mounted units suitable for large enterprise data centers.

NAS systems can be connected to networks in a variety of ways: Ethernet, Fibre, iSCSI, Wi-Fi, and even using USB2. In general, however, NAS would be connected to your network via Ethernet business. Because the performance of NAS is connected to your network, it is essential that your infrastructure running as efficiently as possible.

NAS functionality

NAS functionality is targeted for heavy file-level, file-sharing. The most common protocols and NAS file systems in use include, but are not limited to Network File System (NFS), Common Internet File System / Server Message Block (CIFS / SMB), Multi Protocol File System ( NAPM), VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS).

NAS can be configured to handle any client files accessible using whatever file sharing system, it is. Microsoft, UNIX, and Linux file systems, for example, are well supported. As for Oracle, Apache, MySQL, and others are covered.

The performance of a NAS device depends on a number of factors, including hardware configuration, the efficiency of operating systems, the speed of network connection, the volume of traffic on the network, and the number clients accessing files on the drive. Do not get me wrong, the performance NAS will not be on par with Direct Attached Storage (DAS). However, when properly sized and configured, NAS is an excellent performance providing very good value overall.

Deciding NAS solution is good for you depends on where and how you intend to use it.

What to look for in the NAS

When you plan data security as the most Critica.