NAS - Network Attached Storage

NAS - Network Attached Storage is a type of computer data storage where devices are connected via the network. Local area network is employed in NAS for establishing connections between clients and servers. In NAS storage the storage devices can be accessed over a computer network rather than being directly connected to the computer. NAS devices enable multiple computers to share the same storage space at once. There are many advantages of NAS storage. NAS system is also commonly used as backup servers. Also, the data protection software for NAS is available to the data stored in the system, which saves space and time for users. NAS storage is often contrasted with another type of network storage, storage area network (SAN). NAS provides both storage and a file system. SAN protocols are SCSI, Ethernet and Fibre Channel, whereas NAS storage uses mainly NFS and CIFS. However, SAN and NAS types of storage are not mutually exclusive, because they may be combined into a SAN-NAS hybrid, offering both file-level protocols and block-level protocols in the same system. NAS storage is often contrasted with storage area network. The two solutions for network storage however can be used simultaneously in the form of SAN-NAS hybrid. You can also order an NAS catalog. A Network Attached Storage (NAS) device is basically a central hard drive for storing and serving up data files from multiple devices. They offer businesses a way to centralize data storage and eliminate the need for companies to have dedicated storage devices for each client or server system.

What is the Difference Between NAS and SAN? With NAS architectures, heterogeneous systems, such as PCs, Macs and servers can all access and share the same stored files. NAS network storage is often confused with Storage Area Network (SAN) architectures even though the two are very different. With NAS network storage, the goal is to centrally store enterprise data so that it can be accessed by multiple servers and client systems. How do NAS Storage Devices Work? From a technology standpoint, NAS storage devices are little more than stripped down file servers dedicated to the task of storing and serving up files to multiple systems on a network. NAS storage devices are connected directly to the network either via Ethernet or in wireless fashion. NAS devices are specialized hardware appliances featuring their own operating system and powerful microprocessors for running NAS software and the disk drives in them.

Often, NAS storage devices feature two or more hard drives arranged in logical arrays known as RAID arrays. How Can a Business Benefit from NAS? Businesses can derive multiple benefits from implementing NAS storage architectures. NAS network storage architectures also allow companies to add or remove storage resources without disruption, unlike server attached storage where the file server typically needs to be taken offline in order to increment storage resources. In addition, NAS storage devices are optimized for both file serving and for data storage purposes. As a result, NAS storage devices typically offer significantly better data access speeds and performance than generic file servers. Todays NAS units offer expanadle storage options, including internal SATA drive storage or high end SAS serial attached scsi options.

NAS drives for home streamline your whole storage process. As a home user you want a home NAS storage device that even Grandma can use. The concerns about NAS storage systems failures may not be difficult to overlook. Implications of System Failures. This is the reason that most of the NAS storage systems failures suddenly happen. Data Recovery If you want to reverse the effects of NAS storage systems failures, you may resort to data recovery from a failed NAS storage using SoftAmbulance. Counteracting the System Failure