What Should You Know Before You Get into NAS Storage?
There is no doubt that NAS is the future of data storage. In this article, we will look at what you need to know about NAS and whether it should have a place in your data center.
What exactly is NAS storage
A NAS is a network attached storage device designed share and store data. In other words, it's a centralized location for files or media that multiple users on a network can access. This isn't to be confused with cloud storage, which is a service that provides access to documents and files from anywhere using an Internet connection. Instead, NAS devices store data locally but can also offer web access.
Who needs NAS storage?
Not everyone should get NAS storage, but there are some good reasons for businesses to do so. If you're looking for a way to save money on data storage costs, going with NAS is probably a good idea. SMBs may require only a traditional NAS storage that doesn't have to deal with demanding workloads; however, the best NAS systems like StoneFly’s SSO enterprise NAS are better suited to large enterprises that deal with data all the time.
They also come with loads of additional data protection and management features like Anti-virus and anti-ransomware, Immutable delta-based snapshots, Write-Once Read-Many (WORM) volumes, Automated storage tiering, Deduplication, AES 256-bit encryption, and Sync/async multi-appliance/multi-site replication.
Benefits of NAS storage
A NAS device can provide a massive benefit to your business. These devices will allow you to reduce costs as well as increase productivity.
Reduce Costs: By centralizing all of your data onto one server, you can eliminate much of the need for additional hardware. This can help you save on hardware costs and give you more room to grow when it comes time to upgrade or add more servers.
Easy to manage: You'll also be able to free up space by moving large files onto smaller and less expensive drives through automated storage tiering that automatically moves hot and cold data between different storage tiers depending on the usage.
High scalability: Another benefit of enterprise NAS storage is a high degree of scalability. Enterprise NAS solutions can scale out to petabytes of data while simultaneously increasing the performance of your network infrastructure through the addition of new nodes, each with its hardware. This adds to the aggregated performance of your network storage as a whole.
Bottom Line
With that being said, not all NAS appliances are made equally. Consider your budget and your business needs to choose what is best for your organization. If you want a scalable, cost-effective, and datacenter-friendly storage solution that is easy to manage, upgrade and maintain, NAS storage is an excellent solution.