---------------------- Forwarded by Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT on 03/27/2000 
08:47 AM ---------------------------


"NW on Storage in the Enterprise" <Storage@bdcimail.com> on 03/22/2000 
03:46:29 AM
Please respond to "Storage in the Enterprise Help" <NWReplies@bellevue.com>
To: <vkamins@enron.com>
cc:  
Subject: The case for network-attached storage


NETWORK WORLD FUSION FOCUS: AMY LARSEN DeCARLO
on STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
Today's Focus: The case for network-attached storage
03/21/00

Dear Wincenty Kaminski,

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Copy and paste URLs that break in two lines and remove extra spaces.
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Today's Focus: The case for network-attached storage
---------------------------------------------------------------
By Amy Larsen DeCarlo

Hyper-efficiency is a prime objective in e-business.  Companies want to
gain a competitive advantage by defining new sales opportunities faster
than their rivals, fulfilling customers information queries quickly,
and cutting their time to market with new products and services.

That often means finding a high-speed mechanism for filing and
retrieving business data.

Network-attached storage (NAS) is one way around the slowdowns and
service interruptions that occur in a conventional file server model.
The shortcomings with the file server model were discussed in last
week,s newsletter, but essentially they center on the file server,s
role as a gatekeeper.  In this setup, the file server sits in front of
storage systems typically connected to disk arrays by a SCSI bus in a
parallel cabling scheme. File servers read and write all storage
requests from users and other servers, and only one file server has
access to the disks that hold stored files.  The file server can become
a single point of failure or a bottleneck.

NAS effectively moves storage out from behind the server and puts it
directly on the transport network. Unlike file servers that have SCSI
and LAN adapters, a NAS appliance uses a network interface card to
transmit LAN and storage communications.

These specialized storage devices bring with them some major benefits
over file server systems. Because they don,t require a file server, any
user with access rights, anywhere on the network, can directly access
stored data.  This removes any delay posed by slow file server hardware
or operating systems.   NAS devices are also optimized to process
storage I/O transactions much faster than conventional parallel SCSI
schemes.

NAS appliances use a common file server access protocol, so they can
process requests from systems around a network, running multiple types
of operating systems. Any system, whether it is a Windows NT server or
a Unix box, can access the NAS device.  This solves cross-platform
issues that arise frequently in today,s heterogeneous enterprises.

NAS also mitigates the physical complexity associated with file servers
that use parallel SCSI buses to connect servers to storage disks.  NAS
alleviates the awkward setups of parallel cabling, host bus adapters,
and termination that are part and parcel of a file server
implementation.  Companies simply plug the system into the network and
it is ready to go.  Many NAS appliance vendors claim an installation
takes less than an hour.

Yet for all its advantages over a file server model, one drawback of
NAS is that it shifts storage transactions from parallel SCSI
connections to the production network.   This means the LAN has to
handle both normal end-user traffic and storage disk requests,
including backup operations.

Thus, NAS doesn,t resolve one of the core issues associated with file
servers  bandwidth consumption during backups.  Unlike storage-area
networks, which remove back-up traffic from the LAN, NAS still uses the
production network for backup and recovery.

That said, NAS technology still supplies companies with an easy-to-
deploy solution for resolving cross-platform issues while speeding
access to stored files.

To contact Amy Larsen DeCarlo:
------------------------------
Amy Larsen DeCarlo is an analyst with Enterprise Management Associates
in Boulder, Colo., (http://www.enterprisemanagement.com), a leading
analyst and market research firm focusing exclusively on all aspects of
enterprise management. She focuses on storage management, application
management, and security. In her position, she oversees market research
and contributes to custom project work in her focal coverage areas.
Prior to joining EMA, Amy spent five years covering enterprise
management for industry trade magazines, including InformationWeek and
Data Communications. She can be reached at
mailto:decarlo@enterprisemanagement.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR RELATED LINKS -- Click here for Network World's home page:
http://www.nwfusion.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Network Appliance
http://www.networkappliance.com/products/filer

Auspex Systems
http://www.auspex.com/storage_guide2k/guide3_3.htm

Dell
http://www.dell.com/us/en/biz/products/line_storage.htm


Other storage-related articles from Network World:

IBM adds muscle to storage network line, Network World, 03/20/00
http://www.nwfusion.com/archive/2000/90172_03-20-2000.html

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