I constantly seem to be short of disk space!

As modern business moves more and more communications and records into electronic format, the ability to store and retrieve this information has become critical. To cope with this explosion in data IT buyers have had to search for more efficient storage strategies.

IT projects have also, by their nature, added to the storage problem. Each project is often a self-contained solution complete with servers and their associated disks and backup solution that are then plugged into the server room switch infrastructure. The problem with this strategy is that it creates pools of disk space, some of which are always disapearing and some that are underutilised.

The solution is to remove storage and backup from the server. By doing this organisations can build a single storage pool within an infrastructure that can be quickly and effectively expanded. Two common technologies are used; Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN).

NAS solutions are, as their name implies, attached to the company's data cabling directly. Servers requesting data pass their requests across the company LAN and it is, therefore, criutial that capacity is available. NAS solutions most suited to SMEs or departmental use within large IT infrastructures.

SANs are constructed on a dedicated storage network that is not part of the organisation's LAN. This fibre optic network ensures optimum performance even with TeraBytes of disk space. SAN solutions are most suited to organisations with large on-line data requirements and constantly changing storage needs.

For more information on SAN solutions see HP's My First SAN brochure, or for NAS download the Easy as NAS pdf.

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