By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
A network-attached storage (NAS) server includes several components in addition to a set of physical drives with high-volume storage, including a central processing unit (CPU) for managing the file system and a lightweight operating system optimized for sharing and storing files and data. NAS is often used in the context of collaboration and file sharing, cloud integration, and the streamlined testing and development of web and server applications.
Organizations may opt for NAS because it’s scalable, relatively low-cost, and can support a variety of applications ranging from data analytics to everyday business processes. Large companies can rely on NAS as a component in a private cloud or a data backup protocol, while smaller firms can use it to quickly adjust their networking and storage needs.
However, NAS comes with limitations. For example, too many users requesting data from a NAS setup can overwhelm it unless more NAS devices and/or storage are quickly added. As it’s an on-premises device, it requires a certain amount of maintenance and monitoring—resources that IT pros may prefer to invest in cloud-based alternatives.
It’s important to note the differences between NAS and storage area network (SAN). While NAS is effective for file-level storage (and serving individual files to users), SANs generally provide block storage, wherein data is stored in blocks with their own identifiers. NAS is generally a single device, while SANs are networks with a variety of devices and cloud services; as a result, SANs are generally more complicated to set up and maintain, and relies on different protocols and technologies than NAS. However, NAS can operate with SAN as a NAS–SAN hybrid with both file- and block-based storage access.
