Storage strategies: comparing NAS and SAN from Hitachi Vantara
We live in a world where information (data) is becoming the most valuable asset for business development and efficiency, as it is the basis for making strategic decisions, optimising internal processes and introducing innovations. Data has become a key resource and a competitive advantage that determines the success of companies in many industries. As the volume of data grows exponentially, storing and managing it efficiently requires technologies that deliver reliability, performance, and flexibility.
Choosing a data storage strategy is an important step that affects the performance of the IT infrastructure, cost-effectiveness, and the organisation's ability to adapt to change quickly. The right solution can ensure continuous access to data, reduce the risk of data loss, and optimise costs.
Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) systems are two major storage architectures that have become fundamental components of enterprise data centres. Each has its unique features, benefits, and applications, making them important tools for solving the challenges of modern business.
Hitachi Vantara: a leader in data storage
As a leading storage solutions provider, Hitachi Vantara offers a wide range of products to meet the needs of small and medium businesses and large enterprises. Their solutions are characterised by reliability, high performance and scalability, making them ideal for companies looking to meet the demands of the modern digital economy.
Hitachi NAS and SAN products offer:
- Data management flexibility through integration with cloud platforms and tiered architecture.
- The scalability and performance needed to handle large volumes of data and high-load applications.
- High security to protect critical information and meet regulatory requirements.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at two key storage architectures - NAS and SAN from Hitachi Vantara. We'll analyse their benefits, features, possible use cases and how Hitachi storage solutions enable organisations to effectively address data management challenges with the optimal combination of performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
What are NAS and SAN?
Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) are two key storage architectures used in modern IT infrastructures. Although both provide access to and storage of data, they have different structures, functionality and approaches to solving business problems.
NAS (Network Attached Storage)
NAS is a specialised file storage connected to a local network that allows users and devices to share data. Key features:
- Easy to manage. A NAS takes minimal time to set up, making it affordable for small and medium-sized businesses. Administrators can quickly add or change users and file access levels.
- File access. The system is ideal for working with documents, media files, backups and archives.
- Local network access. Users can access data using standard network protocols such as Network File System (NFS) or Server Message Block (SMB) without the need to install additional software.
- Scalability for SMBs. An ideal solution for small offices or departments that need to share data on a limited budget.
- Integration with cloud services. Modern NAS solutions often can synchronise data with cloud platforms for added convenience and security.
SAN (Storage Area Network)
A SAN is a complex block storage system connected by a dedicated network to provide high performance and low latency. It is an integral part of the infrastructure of large organisations. Key features:
- High performance. SAN is optimised for transaction-intensive workloads such as high-performance databases, ERP systems and storage virtualisation. This ensures minimal latency when accessing data.
- Dedicated network. Data is transferred over dedicated channels, such as fibre-optic links or iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) protocols, ensuring stable and secure transmission.
- Flexibility and scalability. The SAN can easily scale to meet the needs of large organisations, allowing you to add new storage arrays without significantly impacting the existing infrastructure.
- Uninterrupted operation. With network redundancy and multi-path access, the SAN provides a high level of fault tolerance in the event of hardware failure.
- Integration with other technologies. SAN is often used in conjunction with backup, archiving and cloud services to create a multi-tiered storage architecture.
Choosing between NAS and SAN
The choice between NAS and SAN depends on your business needs:
- NAS is suitable for scenarios where simple file access is required, such as small and medium-sized organisations.
- SAN is ideal for large organisations with high-performance requirements, such as data centres, cloud services and enterprise data centres.
Both architectures are integral to modern data management and often complement each other in complex IT environments.
Comparison of NAS and SAN
Performance
- SAN:
SAN systems are designed to process large amounts of data at high speeds, making them ideal for use in highly loaded environments. This includes working with databases that require fast access to data, and high-performance computing (HPC), where minimal latency and fast information transfer are important. The use of a dedicated network ensures stability and performance, even under heavy load.
- NAS:
NAS provides the convenience of sharing files on a local network. However, due to the use of network protocols such as SMB or NFS, the latency of data access can be higher compared to SAN. This means that NAS is better suited for less demanding tasks such as document storage, backup, and multimedia files.
Scalability
- SAN:
A SAN system allows you to seamlessly integrate additional storage arrays without compromising performance. This is important for large organisations that need a scalable infrastructure to support growing data volumes. SAN can easily adapt to changing business needs, making it a long-term solution for enterprise environments.
- NAS:
NAS provides the ability to incrementally increase storage capacity by adding new disks or devices. This makes it a flexible system for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to scale their storage as their needs grow. However, overloading a NAS can limit its performance in large environments.
Use Cases
NAS:
- NAS is an ideal solution for file-sharing tasks.
- File sharing. Provides centralised document storage that is accessible to many users over a local network.
- Backup. Easily configured to automate data backup, essential for data protection.
- Work with multimedia files. Ideal for storing and accessing large multimedia files such as videos and images.
SAN:
- SAN focuses on high-performance tasks that require minimal latency.
- Databases. Provides fast access and processing of data in large databases such as Oracle or SQL.
- Storage virtualisation. Supports virtualised environments where performance and stability are critical.
- High-Performance Computing (HPC). Used to perform complex computing tasks such as modelling, big data analysis or scientific data processing.
Cost
- NAS:
NAS is a cost-effective solution with lower initial implementation costs, making it affordable for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides basic file storage and sharing capabilities without the need for large infrastructure investments.
- SAN:
The cost of a SAN is significantly higher due to the complexity of the architecture and the use of expensive hardware such as fibre links. However, this investment provides high performance, scalability and reliability, resulting in a significant return on investment (ROI) in the long term. SAN is the ideal choice for organisations that require the best performance and are prepared to invest in a long-term infrastructure.
The choice between NAS and SAN depends on specific business needs, budget and performance requirements. For small businesses looking for simplicity and affordability, NAS is the obvious choice. For large organisations that need a powerful, scalable and reliable solution, SAN is the best option.
Hitachi NAS and SAN solutions
Hitachi NAS Platform: an enterprise-class platform
The Hitachi NAS Platform (HNAS) is an advanced data management solution that delivers high performance, scalable IT infrastructure and reliability for the enterprise. It consolidates data storage for distributed business processes and data centres on a proven infrastructure.
Key benefits of the Hitachi NAS Platform
- Enterprise-level consolidation. The HNAS Platform supports the integration of diverse workloads, simplifying data management and increasing infrastructure efficiency.
- Easy and seamless migration. With clustered updates and Enterprise Virtual Server (EVS) automated recovery features, deployment and migration are seamless.
- Automate and simplify processes. Automatic data migration policies enable seamless integration of storage into private and public cloud environments.
- Scalability and performance. HNAS offers integration with the Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) series for high-performance tasks and scalability for high transaction volume tasks.
Key features
- Tiered File System. Provides tiered file management to maximise resource utilisation.
- Global Cluster Support. Ensures continuous data availability by supporting metro clusters.
- Consolidate and unify data access. The Cluster Namespace feature allows you to consolidate access to data from multiple file systems into a single access point, simplifying management and improving file performance.
Additional benefits
- Support for specific service levels (SLOs). The platform allows you to define individual service levels depending on your business needs.
- Integration with modern flash solutions. Support for flash technologies allows you to optimise performance for the most demanding tasks.
Hitachi NAS Platform is an ideal choice for companies seeking scalability, high availability and security of data storage without compromising on performance.
Hitachi SAN
The integration of Hitachi SAN with Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) creates a powerful storage solution that combines the benefits of a high-performance storage area network (SAN) with the object-oriented big data management of HCP. Key benefits of this combination include:
1. High SAN Performance and Scalability
- Scalable storage. Hitachi SAN makes it easy to add new data arrays as your business needs grow, providing flexible expansion.
- Fast access speeds. Fibre Channel and multi-path access provide low latency and high throughput for large volumes of data, such as media files or databases.
2. Fault tolerance and reliability
- Data protection. SAN ensures continuous operation through multi-path access to shared storage and the use of redundant arrays.
- Fault tolerance. Integration of SAN with HCP enables nodes to continue to access data even if individual system components fail.
3. Tiered storage for optimal resource utilisation
- Effective management. HCP uses SAN as one of the tiers of a multi-tiered storage architecture, allowing you to automatically move data between active and archive storage based on its relevance.
- Primary spindown storage. The SAN supports energy-efficient storage with disk spindown to reduce power consumption without compromising data availability.
4. Integrated Data and Metadata Management
- Object-oriented storage. HCP combines data and metadata, organises them as objects with a logical structure, and stores data on SAN arrays.
- Easy access. HCP tools make it easy to manage large data warehouses by distributing objects across different storage tiers.
5. Configuration flexibility
- SAN connectivity. HCP can work with the SAN as a primary data store or as a backup tier, allowing you to tailor the system to the specific needs of your organisation.
- Cloud services support. The HCP SAN integrates with external cloud storage such as Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure, providing additional backup and archive capabilities.
By integrating the Hitachi SAN with the Hitachi Content Platform, organisations can create a productive, scalable and reliable storage environment. With fast access speeds, fault tolerance and flexible resource management, this solution is ideal for enterprise data centres that need to efficiently manage large amounts of data and high availability.
How to choose between NAS and SAN: advantages of Hitachi solutions
1. Business Needs Analysis
- Hitachi NAS Platform (HNAS). Suitable for businesses requiring file sharing and data management for distributed workflows. Ideal for multimedia tasks, small and medium-sized offices and integration with cloud environments.
- Hitachi SAN. Optimal enterprise storage for high volumes of data, high-performance databases and virtualisation. The SAN provides low latency, high bandwidth and fault tolerance for mission-critical tasks.
2. Consideration of cost and return on investment (TCO and ROI)
- NAS. Suitable for organisations looking for cost-effective solutions for centralised file management with lower implementation and maintenance costs.
- SAN. Requires a higher initial investment but offers long-term benefits through scalability, high performance and reliability for large and complex IT infrastructures.
3. Use Cases
NAS:
- Data consolidation for small offices.
- Work with multimedia files or corporate documents.
- Integration with cloud environments for automated data management.
SAN:
- Data centres with high transaction volumes.
- Enterprise databases and high-load applications.
- High-performance computing (HPC) solutions.
The choice between NAS and SAN depends on business needs, data volumes and performance requirements. NAS is ideal for file-sharing environments and less critical tasks. SAN is for large organisations that require a high-performance, scalable and reliable storage system. The flexibility of Hitachi Vantara NAS and SAN and the company's innovative approach enable you to meet today's business challenges effectively.
The benefits of using Hitachi Vantara
- Technological expertise. Years of experience in developing reliable data storage solutions.
- Energy-efficient storage. Reduced energy consumption, reducing costs and environmental impact.
- Integration with cloud platforms. Flexibility to operate in a multi-cloud environment.
- Data protection. Built-in backup and recovery.
Conclusion
Having the right data storage strategy in place is critical to achieving business goals, ensuring security and improving the efficiency of your IT infrastructure. It not only helps protect critical information but also optimises costs and resources. Hitachi Vantara's NAS and SAN solutions offer reliability, performance and scalability to meet the diverse needs of your business, regardless of its size or scope.
Contact Integrity Vision for a consultation to find out how Hitachi Vantara can be your partner in creating a long-term storage strategy.