You know that file volumes are growing out of control. You know that you need network-attached storage (NAS), but how do you choose the right solution?
Who needs NAS?
usual cure for exploding file volumes is to add more general purpose file servers. That strategy eventually leads to server sprawl, which brings with it more management complexity, stranded disk capacity, wildly differing storage utilization rates and slower file access.
Network attached storage (NAS) appliances can add file serving capacity that's more easily managed, shareable, more scalable and more efficient than a sprawl of general purpose servers.
f your enterprise is using too many general purpose file servers—or if you've already moved to a NAS that isn't keeping pace—it's time to look for new solutions to your file-serving challenges.
Three basic considerations can help simplify your NAS buying decision:
NAS use can be split roughly into two categories:
General office
If you need to store files generated by office productivity applications, then it's unlikely your users need to access big files frequently or with great speed. In a general office setting, the primary concern is scaling Microsoft® servers to accommodate a growing number of files and users.
The HP ProLiant Storage Servers family can plug into Microsoft environments for shareable expandability and include a suite of management tools designed for file serving. As users or file volumes grow, the system scales through clustering, among other methods.
Extreme environment
When file sizes balloon and performance needs are higher, you've moved into an extreme environment. Animation, broadcasting, genome sequencing, geological modeling and medical imaging applications may have fewer users than typical enterprise office applications, yet those users need high-performance access to retrieve and save very large files.
| ProLiant Storage Server (PSS) | Scalable NAS | Extreme Data Storage Family (ExDS) |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Easy Microsoft file server storage consolidation |
Full-featured NAS with GBps-range performance |
Content depots that scale performance and capacity independently |
| Use: General-office productivity, file storage, i.e., e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets. Can be clustered to serve up to thousands of users. |
Use: Large file sizes, high-performance needs, i.e., video manipulation, scientific imaging, systems modeling. |
Use: Massive content environments where file storage can reach into the petabyte range and/or users can grow without limits; photo and video sharing; social media and other Internet content depots, for example. |
| Cost: Afforable entry-level |
Cost: Affordable mid-range acquisition with bundled storage |
Cost: Low as sub-$2/GB |
| Scalability Capacity: One to 10s of TB; Performance: 2500 MBps, minimum (SAS RAID 5 Cluster) Users: Up to 5,000 |
Scalability Capacity: Five to 100s of TB Performance: 200 MBps with linear scalability ranging into the GBps range. Users: Up to 30,000 |
Scalability Capacity: 200 TB to multiple PB Performance: Throughput which can exceed 3 GBps Users: Unlimited |
The scalable, extreme user environment has two options: HP Scalable NAS and HP Extreme Data Storage (ExDS) solutions.
HP Scalable NAS offers high-performance file serving in a compact turnkey footprint. The 4400 Scalable NAS File Services can handle tens to hundreds of terabytes of files at speeds ranging from 200 megabytes per second into the gigabytes-per-second range. This solution is suitable for large user bases with growing performance and capacity requirements.
But there are extreme environments in which the amount of file data, number of users and need for performance is practically limitless. Think Snapfish, YouTube, Facebook and other such content depots. Service providers that need to offer value-added services, such as mobile phone backups or video content serving, need super-scalable, affordable storage solutions. The HP ExDS is purpose-built for these environments, with capacities ranging from 246 TB into the multiple petabyte range and performance that that can exceed 3 GBps.
NAS appliances are, by nature, cost-efficient alternatives to general purpose file servers. NAS lowers management costs by pooling and thus increasing the amount of file services and storage each administrator can handle. This pool also helps alleviate performance bottlenecks and level out utilization rates.
When it comes to price, the question is "Which NAS option gives you the right mix of features, affordably, and yet with sufficient room to grow?"
For general office file serving and small data centers, the ProLiant Storage server line offers not only highly-competitive acquisition costs, but preinstalled software and wizard-based management for quick, simple integration. The HP Scalable NAS family of products offers bundled affordability in a compact footprint for medium-range NAS requirements.
The HP Scalable NAS family of products offers bundled affordability in a compact footprint for medium-range NAS requirements.
Content depots can't beat the HP ExDS' capacity-efficient pricing, under USD $2 per gigabyte
This is where "room to grow" comes in. Even if the current state of your enterprise indicates one solution, it might be more cost-efficient to buy into the next rung because of anticipated growth in users, file sizes, performance needs, file volumes or any combination of the four.
If your office environment is stable and unlikely to grow to more than a couple of thousand users, then your ProLiant Storage servers can grow with you through clustering.
Office environments consolidating over 30 file servers or that expect growth to more than several thousand users should consider the HP Scalable NAS family. Throughput-intensive enterprise applications, such as Web 2.0, animation or scientific imaging, will find room to scale performance, by adding up to 16 scalable NAS head nodes.
f you need lower-cost capacity ranging from 200TB up to 1 PB—and anticipate needing to scale capacity and performance while conserving data center space and power—the ExDS9100 is your content depot solution.
These three considerations can get you pointed in the right direction for your NAS search. However, every environment has its own subtleties and needs. For additional help selecting the right solution for your unique needs, see our NAS family guide.
