The Pros & Cons of NAS Storage

When we think of NAS storage, automatically cost effectiveness comes to mind, which is a good thing but it is important to note that enterprise NAS storage is not just for small to medium businesses but it can be used by big enterprises as well. It offers many benefits that can reshape the infrastructure of an enterprise for the better, however there are some cons as well and this all that this article is all about.

What is NAS Storage

NAS storage is a data storage device that is connected to a network providing data access to users or enterprises that use it. It is built with either SAS or SATA disks arranged in a RAID and it is then attached to devices over ethernet. NAS storage is a highly specialized file server and it can only perform data storage.

NAS Storage Pros

-       Simplified Architecture: network attached storage in cloud computing is built just like a desktop or a server and has a pretty simple architecture.This means that it offers simplified management and easy usability. It is a plug-and-play solution making it very easy to setup and install.

-       Secure: NAS storage solutions are safe and secure. NAS storage solutions consolidate and centralize data protection.

-       Inexpensive: Prices are based on the size and quality of NAS storage but in general, NAS storage solutions are an affordable option, especially if compared to SAN storage solutions.

-       Storage Only: The fact that NAS only offers storage is a good point in a way that it becomes very reliable in terms of storage. Its core functionality is storage of data and that is what most enterprises want.  

NAS Storage Cons

Limited Scalability: NAS storage is limited in resources which means that it cannot scale freely. This makes scalability very limited. In order to scale, you need another NAS but that would lead to other issues such as NAS sprawl.

-       Slow Speed: NAS storage is not fast enough to handle high performance options as it has low throughput and high latency.

-       Network Dependent: NAS storage can cause congestion as files in NAS storage are shared over LAN so they can be affected by other traffic on the LAN which would result in some bottlenecks.

Conclusion

NAS storage has earned its popularity due to the fact that it offers many features and benefits to the users who use it. However, this does not mean that it is immune to some cons. The cons mentioned in this article could prove to be degrading for some enterprise that deal with big data. So, if that is the case then its best to look for other solutions, such as SAN storage.