DAS- (Direct Attached Storage)

DAS is always preferred for Local Data Sharing Requirements for small business.

Direct-attached storage, or DAS, is the most basic level of storage, in which storage devices are directly attached to the server with drives, or directly connected to a single server with RAID array. Network workstations must therefore access the "server node" in order to connect to the storage device. This have got the specialty that its the first widely popular storage model. Even in today's IT infrastructures, DAS have the major role for cheapest and best solution when compared to other storage solutions.

Even tho the implementation of networked storage is growing at a faster rate in today's era, DAS have got its own simplicity, cost effective with easy deployment options when compared to other NAS , SAN solutions. As I mentioned earlier when considering DAS, it is important to know what is the exact requirement, budget, data size, maintenance etc. But there are limitations in DAS also. Since the storage is directly connected to the single server, there are chances of data unavailability for the users if the server goes down for some reason or even if storage engineers do the maintenance. In addition to storing and retrieving files, the server also bears the load of processing applications such as e-mail and databases. Network bottlenecks and slowdowns in data availability may occur as server bandwidth is consumed by applications, especially if there is a lot of data being shared from workstation to workstation.

DAS is ideal solutions for localized file sharing in environments with a single server or a few servers - for example, small offices, departments which do not need to share information over long distances or across an enterprise. Small companies traditionally utilize DAS for file serving and e-mail, while larger enterprises may leverage DAS in a mixed storage environment that likely includes NAS and SAN. However, management complexity can escalate quickly with the addition of new servers, since storage for each server must be administered separately.

In the budget point perspective, the initial investment in direct-attached storage is cheaper. This is a great benefit for storage engineers who can really do cost cutting on their storage budgets. DAS can also serve as basic solution for those planning to migrate to networked storage in the future. For corporates which expects the rapid data growth, it is important to keep in mind that DAS is limited in its scalability. From both a cost efficiency and administration perspective, networked storage models are much more suited to high scalability requirements.

Will have some examples for DAS in the next article.

Thanks,

Hariharan