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Everything yo need to know about Network Attached Storage Systems.
What would you do if, at this moment, all of the files on your computer were erased? Do you have a reliable backup of your files, or would all of your photos, videos, music and documents be lost forever?
People used to worry about their possessions being destroyed by fire or flood. Nowadays, in this digital era, the threat of technological failure is very real. Imagine losing all of your precious family memories due to a computer crash, theft or backup failure. Even if you use CDs or an external hard drive to backup your files, having one in-home backup isn’t enough. A critical component of protecting your data is a NAS.
Network attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to PC and Apple computers. Put simply, NAS devices backup your files to a safe place, so you can restore them if your own personal computer ever fails. With some NAS devices, when a drive fails, all you have to do is pull out the old drive and put in a new drive and the data will be “rebuilt.” By using NAS all of your important files have spare copies, as they auto backup to another drive. Protect your invaluable memories from accidental file deletion, multiple simultaneous drive failures, file system corruption, viruses, theft, power surges, fire, floods, software and hardware malfunction, earthquakes and of course curious toddlers.
Some of the Benefits of NAS
Increased Reliability and Data Availability RAID file structure provides redundant data storage, protecting your data from a single drive crash. This is the single most important aspect of a NAS with a RAID structure. If one of your drives fails your data is still safe! This means all your family photos, videos and music will be safe. In the past, when you kept all this data on one PC and the PC drive failed you lost your data.
Streamlined Architecture Network Attached Storage appliances have a streamlined architecture designed for one function - to serve data files to clients in heterogeneous network environments. Installing a NAS is much easier than installing a server.
Reduced Server I/O Bottlenecks The largest source of network and application server degradation is file service. Powered by an operating system optimized for file I/O activity, file serving performance is greater than that of a general purpose server, which is designed to perform a multitude of functions.
Efficient Allocation and Use of Resources Network Attached Storage provides a common pool of storage that can be shared by the entire family, regardless of their file system or operating system.
Simplicity Network Attached Storage enables you to add storage easily. If you have a NAS device with an open disk drive bay, adding more storage is as easy as sliding in another drive.
Digital Asset Management Digital asset management is the total plan/process of keeping your data safe. Below is Drobo’s approach to digital asset management. We like this approach and are sharing it with you.
The best practices for digital asset management include a minimum of 4 elements:
1. No single point of failure
Your data should exist in a minimum of two separate geographic locations
You’re only as safe as your last backup
Failures can occur in both hardware and software.
2. Regularly check to ensure all software and firmware is up to date and functioning properly
3. Regularly check to ensure all hardware is functioning properly
4. Regularly check the integrity of your backup
Drobo storage products provide fully automated data protection for safely storing digital content. In a normal state your data is inherently protected against drive failure, making Drobo ideal for use as “primary” storage. Although Drobo provides redundancy, it is only part of a reliable digital asset management strategy. There are additional risk factors beyond a single drive failure that all customers should aware of. Additional risk factors include but are not limited to accidental file deletion, multiple simultaneous drive failures, file system corruption, viruses, theft, power surges, fire, floods, software and hardware malfunction. Following best practices and carefully analyzing your digital asset management strategy for risk will help to maximize the safety of your data.
Keeping data truly safe involves the dedication of time, effort and money. Yet, every customer’s needs are different. There is no one size fits all strategy. However, the payoff for maintaining data integrity and uptime is easily quantifiable. How much would you pay to recover your data if it was suddenly lost or inaccessible?
Digital asset management strategies will vary with your needs. For instance, a medium-sized business with 5,000 employees will have vastly different requirement from a household. The strategies outlined in this document should be considered a starting point for Bravo AV and Data Robotics customers.
The Drobo NAS is a 5 bay unit (that mean it can hold up to 5 disk drives) that can be configured to meet your data needs.
For additional resources, please visit our page on Home WiFI Networks with articles like this on everything you need to know. Additionally, you can check out our photo gallery on the same page to explore our previous work.
Bravo AV is proud to be an HTA (Home Technology Association) Certified Installation Firm and professional A/V experts. Tom Curnin, the owner of Bravo AV, is a CEDIA Professional Designer, a certified THX Level 1 home theater professional and a member of the Home Acoustic Alliance trained to Level II. You can contact Tom directly at (908) 953-0555 or through email at Tom@BravoAV.com.