what is NAS?

PATRICIAF5 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 04:12

Hi!
I want to know that what is NAS? Can you please help me with your comments?

Diana · #2 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 04:32

The term network attached storage (commonly abbreviated as NAS) describes storage devices that can be accessed over a computer network rather than being directly connected to the computer. NAS devices enable multiple computers to share the same storage space at once.

WebMaster · #3 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 04:44

NAS stands for Network-attached storage. It is essentially controlled common storage that are accessed over the local area network. Basically, NAS will consist of RAID disk arrays that consolidate the storage needs of the department or organization.

In a NAS, devices communicate through SCSI protocol over a dedicated fibre channel or IP network. This type of NAS can be an alternative to a specialized SAN. NAS devices are often connected to a shared general purpose local area network, reducing cost overhead, while also reducing access speed. The protocol used with NAS is a file based protocol such as NFS or Microsoft's CIFS.

PATRICIAF5 · #4 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 04:52

What are the advantages of NAS?

debasri · #5 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 04:59

There are many advantages of NAS. Those are as follows :

1. NAS permit very fast access speeds to storage since the data is typically stored in Raid arrays within the corporate LAN.
2. NAS involves low cost logical storage since the RAIDs or multiple hard disks are stored within the LAN itself.
3. Installation process of NAS is very smooth, one kind of NAS installation may take less than thirty minutes utilizing the dumbest network engineer!

10NANCY · #6 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 05:06

What Are the Areas Of Application For NAS?

debasri · #7 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 05:11

In which cases the utilization of NAS systems is advisable depends on which applications are to be utilized. Possible applications are:
1. Near-line storage
2. disk-to-disk backup
3. cache backup
4. joint access to Office document sharing
5. gateways between different operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS
6. central file servers for simple networks with no special requirements.

PATRICIAF5 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 05:35

Who should utilize NAS?

77wmaster · #9 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 05:59

1. The reasons why NAS is proper for SME storage environments :
NAS is easy to install,administer and manage making them ideal for the small networking team in SMEs
2. NAS permit the cheapest access to administered storage
3. Network attached storage ensures that access to storage is faster due to the RAID disk arrays being part of the LAN.

10NANCY · #10 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 06:35

What are the disadvantages of NAS?

WebMaster · #11 (**permalink**) 05-24-11, 06:55

The main disadvantages of NAS systems are listed below:

1. NAS systems are not 100% compatible with Microsoft ACL.
2. With the exception of SQL, most database systems, such as Oracle or Microsoft Exchange, can't work with filers, i.e. file servers, such as NAS appliances constitute.
3. Data backup and replication are only ever possible on a file basis with NAS devices.