Storage systems
Storage systems at a glance
Overview of Classic and Virtualized Storage Systems
Performance and, above all, reliable storage systems are the foundation of every data center. This involves the permanent securing of data in digital form. The diversity of storage systems, storage solutions, and storage technologies is steadily increasing.
In general, there are two variants:
- The classic approach (DAS, SAN, and NAS systems)
- Various virtualized storage solutions (vSAN, and SAN virtualization in general)
It is essential that storage is adapted to the company’s IT strategy. There is a suitable system for every purpose:
- Whether highly specialized Hyper-Converged solutions like
- Microsoft’s native Storage Spaces Direct
- or VMware’s vSAN
Depending on the intended purpose of a storage system, one can benefit from the advantages of different types of systems. Also, these systems vary significantly in terms of the reliability of mass storage.
Storage Virtualization
Storage Virtualization: Highly Available, Scalable, and Flexible
The requirements for storage systems in terms of high availability, scalability, and flexibility continue to grow steadily. The virtualization of a Storage Area Network (SAN virtualization) with all its numerous facets and functions provides exactly that for your data center.
In general, storage virtualization refers to the addition of a logical, virtual layer to the storage environment. This decouples the user from the physical characteristics of the system.
Take advantage of your free initial consultation for digitized storage systems.
Virtualized Storage Systems
Software Defined Storage – SDS
Software Defined Storage (SDS) is the latest development in the field of storage virtualization.
SDS describes the ability to centrally manage data storage through a software solution. Simply put, SDS delineates the complete separation between the storage layer and the control layer.
This results in benefits such as:
- enormous scalability of data volumes
- centralized management of the storage unit, storage hardware
- Vendor independence
leading to an extreme increase in flexibility.
Hyper-Converged Systems
Another genre of storage virtualization is hyper-converged systems. In simple terms, the term hyperconvergence describes the idea of combining storage, computing power, and network in one device or cluster. This reduces management effort to a minimum, ensures scalability, and saves costs. Hyper-converged systems include at least 2 nodes, and their local storage is combined into a virtual storage pool. Additionally, it is easy to expand the systems with multiple nodes.
Here is the overview and evaluation of hyper-converged systems.
Storage systems – the classic approach
Direct Attached Storage (DAS)
Simple and high-performing is the use of DAS. It is exclusively bound to a host and can provide high performance despite low hardware requirements. However, as the name suggests, DAS is directly connected via SCSI (SAS) or FibreChannel Point-to-Point (FC-P2P) and not connected via the network.
Storage Area Network (SAN)
The extension of DAS is a SAN. Here, storage capacity is presented to servers or hosts via various network protocols. The advantage is the dynamic allocation of capacities. Storage can be added or removed. This is achieved using dynamic disk arrays. A SAN can connect multiple servers to multiple storage systems, even over long distances.
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
NAS systems are more commonly used as storage servers in small to medium-sized enterprises. This storage solution is suitable for affordable backup to disk or storage for archiving. The systems themselves are capable of providing storage space via various network protocols, with the most common being the iSCSI protocol.
There are various options for mapping reliability and performance for all your server storage systems. We will find the optimum solution for you based on your requirements, infrastructure and budget.
Manufacturer of storage systems and hardware
New Media Service relies on well-known manufacturers and high-quality products such as:
- Netapp
- Nutanix
- Cisco HyperFlex
- Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct (S2D)
- Datacore
It goes without saying that we only select products that are ideally suited to your requirements. Thanks to the high quality of the hardware and systems we use for data storage, we can offer you the best possible solution. Reliable, high-performance and fail-safe.
Our hardware professionals also ensure security against unauthorized access by third parties. We will be happy to draw up a security concept to suit your chosen storage system, your infrastructure and your security requirements and implement it together with you. It goes without saying that our specialists are familiar with all types of storage. We will be happy to help you choose the optimal system. Other well-known manufacturers and storage products include
- HPE Simplivity
- DELL VRTX
- VMware vSAN
- HPE MSA
- Synology
Fail-safe and efficient storage systems
Do you need a high-performance and reliable storage system for your data center? Would you like to protect your data better? We will be happy to assist you with all these requirements.
NMS is your partner for professional storage systems
Our storage system services include a comprehensive requirements and performance analysis within your company’s infrastructure. This forms the basis for implementing an efficient and fail-safe storage solution for your business. We will be happy to provide you with a preselection of available storage manufacturers and their products, select the most suitable ones for you and then create a detailed concept together with you.
A successful company needs the right Mission Control
You wonder:
What storage systems are there?
What is storage?