Chapter 2. An Overview of Storage Technology

In This Chapter:

• A Quick History of Data Storage

• Storage I/O Basics

• The I/O Stack

• Direct Attach Storage

• Network Attached Storage (NAS)

• Storage Area Networks (SANs)

• Extending SANs over MAN and WAN

• Key Points

Data protection is closely linked to storage architecture and technology. The methods used to protect data depend on the storage infrastructure as much as on the company goals. It does no good to try to implement a strategy that is not supported by the architecture. Nor does it make sense to build a storage architecture that will not support the data protection strategy. They are intertwined.

Storage technology is implemented at the device and management layer (Figure 2-0). The primary focus is on the devices that make up the storage infrastructure, as well as the software that manages and organizes stored data.

Figure 2-0. Storage technology operating at the device and management layer

This chapter will provide a brief overview of modern data storage technology and architecture. It is by no means meant to be comprehensive. There are many books available that detail different aspects of storage infrastructure. One of the best general books on storage is Building Storage Networks, by Marc Farley. It is detailed and comprehensive.