The Decade of Storage?

First

it was LAN. Then WAN. Now it could be storage area networks, or

simply SAN. The concept of network storage, existing from the punch

card days, is just beginning to crystallize into a mature technology.

Evolution

of network storage



Over the years, network storage has been evolving. First came the
concept of direct attached storage (DAS). In this method, the storage

devices are directly connected to the server. This not only ensures

data consolidation, but also enables sharing of resources. But the

limitation is that when the server fails, access to critical data

to all users on the network is disrupted.

Just

as LAN and WAN were developed to offer solutions to resource sharing

and distributing applications and files across the organization,

the 'network' was also experimented with to accommodate storage

solutions. And over the years, two clear technology directions have

emerged, namely, network attached storage (NAS) and storage area

networks (SAN).

As

Rajesh Saha, Sales Manager, Storage Systems, IBM India, puts it,

"The concept of network storage has been existing as early

as the punch card days. It is just that the concept is addressing

the various needs and demands of the customer, in terms of bandwidth,

data consolidation, universal access, disaster recovery and remote

mirroring." IBM, for instance, has been working on SAN for

the last three decades, addressing issues of inter-operability,

inter-connect, bandwidth and compatibility to make it a more foolproof

concept.

An

attempt to tackle data availability even while a server crashed,

by connecting a storage device directly on to the user network,

led to the development of NAS. This concept involves NAS devices

to be added to the network, to serve whosoever needs storage requirements

across the network. This is akin to the function of a printer connected

to different users in a network. The user has access to the printer

as and when required. Similarly, NAS acts on the premise that instead

of upgrading the hard disks of users across the individual desktops

each time, a hard disk storage server can be plugged into a network

that will offer itself to any user who needs more capacity, at any

time. And all this is done without disrupting the existing network.

This is because NAS is completely server independent and acts as

a storage for clients.

Connecting

devices in NAS



Specially developed NAS devices such as CD-ROM servers and printer
servers can be added on to a network for the storage requirements

of the different users across a LAN. In that sense, it is a distributed

storage system offering sharing of resources. Since NAS devices

come with a built-in, easy-to-use network interface, it allows network

administrators to remotely access thin server capabilities using

a web browser. "NAS is an enhancement to the network and is

a storage for clients," explains See Chin Teik, Director, Sales

and Marketing, Information Storage Group, HP Asia Pacific.

NAS

is an attempt to add on storage devices to the existing network,

such as a LAN, for simple, reliable and cost-effective shared storage.

Vendors such as HP have shown high levels of commitment to NAS,

developing newer technologies and products for the same. "However,

NAS is still in its infancy. It is not getting acceptance easily,

even in mature markets like Australia. We are therefore working

on several stages of making NAS more user-friendly, fast and cost-effective,"

says Chin Teik. Princy Bhatnagar, Business Manager, Information

Storage Group, HP India, adds that cost is one of the prime barriers

in the movement towards NAS in APAC, particularly India. "While

an SME owner invests about Rs1 lakh in a server for the network,

where would he think of buying a Rs1.5 lakh CD-ROM tower for his

requirements?" he questions. In his opinion, NAS devices such

as the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM towers will be driven by specific business

needs such as legal, banking, financial or education sectors where

referencing by search is important.

"There

is a big opportunity in the data centers business where India is

preferred for out-sourced applications management as in the case

of airlines reservations, medical and legal transcriptions, and

travel services documentation," he adds.

With

relatively small investments, NAS is suitable for SMEs, which are

looking at adding more storage products, or for thin client environments.

NAS, which presently does not enjoy much popularity and acceptance

worldwide, has a lot of scope for growth and performance over the

years. HP's R&D labs, for instance, is working at taking NAS

a step further by eliminating the need for a network, while at the

same time making storage available instantly. Called Atomic Resolution

Storage devices, these are plug-n-play devices which can carry more

capacity in devices as small as a credit card. For example, a car

that has a NAS device with enough memory to remember all the trips

it has made and can locate the place visited once, on its own.

SAN

sensation