Storage

Introduction

Almost every organisation has data that it needs to store and share with users, ranging from a single NAS or server to a data centre full of storage devices. With so many technologies, vendors and options - it can be overwhelming. Get it wrong, and it could be disasterous; get it right, and you will benefit from an infinite pool of fast, reliable storage for years to come.

Types of Storage

There are several storage technologies in use today - each with their own advantages and disadvantages:

• Direct Attached Storage - this is a term used for any storage device that is attached directly to a server/computer (usually with a SATA/SAS or USB connection). It has the advantage of being very fast, but is difficult to share between multiple servers or users.
• Network Attached Storage - these devices have grown in popularity over the last few years. They allow access to storage over a network, which makes it easy to share folders amongst a group of users. They are also a good option as a backup device, as they accept multiple large capacity drives.
• Storage Area Network - this is a dedicated network for storage traffic only, and are usually found in larger companies or data centres. They are very powerful devices that allow multiple servers to be clustered and storage to be shared between them.
• Cloud Storage - this is storage areas provided by a cloud provider (e.g. Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure). They offer a variety of different services, based on the intended usage. The most popular ones are Amazon S3 and Microsoft OneDrive, and they usually offer limitless storage capacity (at a price).

Jovasi Technology can work with your company to plan a storage strategy, based on any of the above storage methods, and has much experience working with companies over the years.

RAID

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a method of storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks to protect data in the case of a drive failure. There are several different RAID configurations, which provide different read/write speeds and different levels of redundancy:


Jovasi Technology can advise you on the most appropriate RAID configuration for your business needs.

Storage Area Networks

Storage area networks (SANs) are the most common storage networking architecture used by enterprises that need to deliver high throughput and low latency (SANs make up about 60% of the total networked storage market). The two most popular technologies are Fibre Channel and iSCSI, and they are usually designed to remove single points of failure, making SANs highly available and resilient. A well-designed SAN can easily withstand multiple component or device failures.


Our storage consultants can work with your company to design a SAN solution around your requirements and budget, taking into consideration scalability, performance and resiliency.

Services

Jovasi Technology have experienced storage consultants and architects, with years of experience working with various storage technologies. We can help you develop your storage strategy, whether you are a small company or a large organisation.

All our storage consultants and architects are Microsoft & AWS certified with years of experience working with storage technologies of varying complexity. If you are considering a cloud-based storage platform, then we also offer a cloud consultancy service.