All companies must store data, but why and how varies substantially. Large corporations might demand full-scale storage area networks (SANS), while smaller businesses may tap current resources and use network attached storage (NAS). Or, depending on the customer's storage needs, perhaps a different solution would make the most sense.

You'll be able to recommend the best storage solution or upgrade to your customers when you understand the differences between today's popular options. A strong storage solution could increase your customers' efficiency, enable greater accessibility to stored data, and reduce operating costs.

RAID Basics

Designed to protect critical data between backups, RAID keeps systems up and running and prevents the loss of new data generated during a business day.

RAID technology can be driven by hardware, software or both. Hardware-driven systems generally provide better performance. Hard drives can be installed either inside a server or workstation or attached externally in an array. External units normally keep drives cooler and allow for a more flexible expansion path.

Contrary to popular belief, RAID can be an inexpensive option - depending on your needs. Simple, inexpensive solutions starting as low as $200 might include EIDE drives and RAID controllers or EIDE drives and a server operating system to run a mirror (RAID 1). High-end, high-priced solutions range from Fibre Channel RAID to multiple-channel RAID controllers attached to multiple external drive enclosures.

All RAID options are scaleable, and ever-increasing drive capacities make the total capacity of a RAID system virtually limit-less. However, RAID 1 and 5 are the most popular solutions because they often fit customer needs best.

If less downtime is a priority, the RAID solution should have hot and cold spares as well as redundant power supplies and fans. Hot-swappable drives also help eliminate downtime when replacing defective drives.

Keep in mind that RAID alone provides no protection against data corruption or accidental deletion. But combined with a tape backup solution, RAID can effectively store, protect and recover critical data. Of course, if your company relies heavily on day-to-day business data or needs to store a high volume of data, you may also want to recommend a SAN or NAS solution.

STORAGE BASICS Continued

The most widely used storage options are direct attached storage (DAS), NAS and SAN. Imagine these options as a pyramid in terms of cost and complexity. DAS would be on the bottom, NAS in the middle and SAN on top.

The lowest cost storage solution, DAS involves connecting hard drives to a server or workstation using a local interface, such as USB, FireWIre or SCSI. The average workstation or server usually has internal empty bays to h old hard drives. If the internal bays are full, a user can just add a RAID card into a PCI slot and add more drives externally.

The cost for a DAS solution is minimal - just the price of a RAID card, drive enclosure, hard drive(s) and cable/terminator. DAS will probably most appeal to your SMB and SOHO customers.

NAS is a streamlined appliance whose only job is to store and retrieve files. Compare that to a regular server that might handle multiple network tasks, such as printing, fax, e-mail and file retrieved. A NAS is available to any workstation on the network that has been given access rights by the administrator.

Storage management is easier with NAS than with DAS, which requires IT personnel to make any necessary changes to the RAID arrays on each server. With NAS, administration is done via a Web browser. Organizations seeking a reliable, low-cost solution, such as small businesses and school districts, should consider a NAS. It's easy to install and maintain. However, if the goal is to reduce network traffic, NAS is not ideal.

At the pinnacle of the storage pyramid is the high-speed SAN. It can be configured with any high-speed interface - even as a secondary Ethernet network - but is most commonly configured with fibre channel. In today's cost conscious corporate environment, a SAN offers more flexibility for the money. It can take the backup traffic off the main production network and allows several servers to share a multiple-drive library - a function not easily performed in the SCSI-based DAS environment.

Additional bonuses are virtually unlimited scalability and centralized management via a single console. High availability will appeal to the enterprise user. When correctly configured, a SAN can survive the failure of an HBA, a switch, a server or even a whole site. However, a SAN costs at least $30,000 to install.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE

Don't assume the best storage solution for your customer is the most expensive one. "A high-cost solution isn't equivalent to a correct solution." Said Melinda Schmidt, an Ingram Micro technical engineer. "Another lane in your highway isn't going to make all the Yugos out there drive any faster."

In other words, simply adding a SAN to a network because your customer wants a terabyte of storage available to one server may not be the best choice. Investigate any other network issues your customer may be facing. Not every situation will necessitate the high-powered and costly storage capabilities of a SAN.

To make the right choice, start out with an honest assessment of the customer's network. You might find that adding DAS will not provide the storage capacity your customer needs, even though its low price can make it more appealing.

Also, discuss with your customer how much money he's spending to maintain the current network and the potential savings from a more efficient solution.

The cost of a new solution can be compared against the current alternatives, such as the cost of paying an intern to swap out tapes every night or the cost of losing an entire customer database.

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