![]() ![]() All it does is make its files available to users and applications connected to that NAS box - much the same as a storage server. NAS, on the other hand, is just a specialized server attached to a local-area network. Actual network-attached storage would be storage attached to a storage-area network (SAN). NAS, it turns out, isn’t really storage networking. But it appears there is very little difference between them. So is NAS really just a storage server? The answer varies, depending on whom you ask. “For a little bit less, you get a lot more value add,” says Hankins. These features are not available on its general-purpose servers. In addition, HP’s NAS-based storage servers have extra functionality built into the operating system - storage-specific management tools, “quota-ing” features, storage reporting capabilities, and a Web-based user interface that makes it easier to configure file and print. Actual network-attached storage would be storage attached to a SAN. To sweeten the deal, HP prices its storage servers a little lower than their general-purpose siblings. If the same ProLiant server is being used as a regular server, however, applications can be run on it. ![]() If licensed as a storage server, the user may not run general-purpose applications on that server. HP has five ProLiant models available as general-purpose servers or storage servers/NAS filer - each has the same basic hardware configuration. “In essence, it is a dedicated file and print server.” “As far as HP is concerned, a storage server is NAS,” says Jim Hankins, product marketing manager for HP’s NAS division. The big advantage of the NAS architecture is that it enables storage to be rapidly added by plugging the appliance into a network hub or switch. A NAS appliance (also known as a NAS filer) generally has a slimmed-down OS and file system, and only processes I/O requests by the main file sharing protocols. Interestingly, some vendors define storage servers purely in terms of NAS. This can include storage management software, extra hardware for higher resilience, a range of RAID configurations and extra network connections to enable more users to be desktops to be connected to it. The Sun StorEdge 3120 storage unit and SunFire X4100 server, for example, can be combined into a storage server and placed in a rack.Īpart from extra disks, what else is different about storage servers? In many cases, they come with a host of specialized services. Both boxes can then be placed side-by-side in a rack. Alternatively, they can consist of two boxes - a storage unit and a server located near by. Sometimes they are built into a 4U rackmount. Storage servers are normally individual units. “A storage server, on the other hand, has at least six, and more, usually 12 to 24 disks.” “A general-purpose server typically has five or less disks inside,” says Graham Lovell, senior director 圆4 servers at Sun Microsystems. ![]() It may come with a little extra storage or a great deal. It is designed for a specific purpose, and thus configured differently.
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