For VendorsBlog

Entry Level Storage

Entry Level Storage

Ready-made entry-level storage systems are often used in various solutions for the SMB segment: disk space consolidation, virtualization, various cluster solutions requiring shared block access.

Key architecture features of most entry-level storage systems on the market:

  • Use one or two hot-swap controllers that use disk sharing. The controller means a specialized server in a special form factor that provides storage operation (working with disks, servicing arrays and providing volumes to hosts, etc.).
  • The presence of two controllers provides an increase in the overall reliability of storage - the ability to avoid downtime during the planned shutdown or failure of one of the controllers) and additional scaling of performance when distributing volumes across different controllers. When using the write cache, its integrity is protected: power protection (regular battery or ionistors plus flash memory reset) and duplication of content between controllers.
  • The choice of host interfaces: 16 and 8 Gb FiberChannel, 1 and 10 Gb Ethernet (iSCSI, some models may have FCoE support), SAS. For some models, there are combined options, for example, FC + SAS.
  • It is possible to connect additional disk shelves (simple cases with SAS expanders) through the SAS interface. To increase the reliability of the connection, a 2-way connection can be applied (below is an example of one of the possible connection schemes).

The most popular products in category Entry Level Storage All category products

Fujitsu Storage ETERNUS DX
12
11
IBM System Storage DS8000 series
IBM
2
12

F.A.Q. about Entry Level Storage

What Is Entry-Level Storage?

Entry-level flash storage is simple, smart, secure, affordable, high-performance data storage for enterprises to start small and grow with seamless cloud connectivity as business requirements increase.

Organizations large and small are navigating at a rapid pace of change in a data-driven economy. Delivering data simply, quickly, and cost-effectively is essential to driving business growth, and the hybrid cloud has emerged as the most efficient way to meet changing business needs. Every IT organization is trying to determine how to modernize with hybrid cloud, and all-flash storage systems are critical on-premises to speed up enterprise applications. However, small enterprises have continued to use hard disk storage systems because of the high cost of all-flash solutions.

An entry-level storage system offers compact, dense, cost-effective, and easy-to-use storage. These storage systems can be deployed in small offices, small enterprises, and remote locations to run both file and block workloads effectively and efficiently. A simple storage system should support multiple protocols, including FC, NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, and FCoE, to help customers consolidate multiple applications onto a single simple system. It must be easy to install and deploy, secure and provide flexibility to connect to the cloud.

Entry-level flash storage systems help accelerate all applications, consolidate workloads with better user experience, more effective storage and offer the best value to the customer.

What Are the Benefits of Entry-Level Storage?

The benefits of entry-level storage include:

  • Improved user experience with fast, secure, and continuous access to data;
  • Improved storage efficiency;
  • Reduced cost through improved TCO;
  • Increased ability for IT to support new business opportunities by leveraging the latest technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and cloud.