 Data management with sophistication and simplicity
It's long been a dilemma: you need a data storage system that provides centralized storage and protection of your data with fast recovery and high dependability. At the same time, this system needs to be plug-and-play, mostly hands-off and reasonably priced. Today, CDW offers a full line of options from which to choose a solution that fits your needs, management capabilities and budget.
Sort and prioritize your data, then assess your needs
The first step to a savvy storage purchase is to prioritize data according to its importance. The general rule of thumb is to store data that's essential for day-to-day operations on the storage devices that offer the quickest retrieval. Critical data includes customer contact information, purchase orders or any data that you need to consult quickly and frequently.
Research your storage options
You have many options to consider for data storage and management. Below is a quick introduction to the most common types of data storage solutions on the market today. Your CDW account manager can give you a thorough explanation of all data storage options available to you.
Small computer systems interface (SCSI)
SCSI is a real-time solution consisting of interconnected high-speed hard drives. SCSI offers high levels of speed, availability, reliability and redundancy and is well suited to applications that directly generate revenue. However, SCSI storage comes at a price premium with a typical cost of $3 to $5 per gigabyte. SCSI systems also require higher levels of management involvement.
Third-party SCSI real-time storage
If speed is critical but you cannot afford to purchase or manage a SCSI infrastructure, it might make sense for you to buy, rather than build, real-time storage. Third-party storage capacity delivers high availability, freedom from management responsibilities, reliability and built-in redundancy.
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)
Although slower than SCSI, SATA drives are quite affordable, costing only about $1 per gigabyte of storage. SATA drives can reside in external housings or inside each PC — this is known as direct attached storage (DAS). The DAS approach provides high levels of redundancy and works well until large files deplete capacity, which can happen quickly with graphics files. SATA is best for companies that have very general storage needs centered on basic applications.
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)
SAS drives are a newer technology for company-wide storage applications priced between SATA and traditional SCSI. SAS offers strong reliability and failover features. Its 2.5-inch form factor, an inch smaller than today's SCSI drives, enables greater density. Finally, because ancillary hardware that supports SAS drives is compatible with SATA devices, you can run both technologies in the same environment.
Storage area network (SAN)
SANs provide an expandable pool of storage space ideal for database-intensive applications such as complex financial analyses. However, starting prices for SAN servers are around $11,000, and that doesn't include the hard drives. SANs also require a moderate amount of IT management. This is a sensible solution if you have specialized, high-volume storage needs.
Network-attached storage (NAS)
NAS servers connect to your local-area network (LAN) and let you add capacity without having to interrupt business. Performance-monitoring software allows you to allocate a pool of storage to everyone in your company. When an employee reaches their capacity ceiling, you simply assign another chunk of remaining space to them. If your NAS runs out of space, you can plug additional hard drives into it or attach an additional NAS box to the network.
Tie it all together with the proper management software
A new generation of storage management and backup software simplifies the operation of storage solutions. CDW can help you select storage management tools that are easy to deploy and provide accurate measurement of critical performance factors such as a global view of your storage reserves and the percentage of your total capacity used. These applications can also monitor backup procedures to ensure they were completed successfully.
For more information, contact your account manager, %%AM_FNAME%% %%AM_LNAME%%, at %%AM_PHONE%%.
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