Introduction to NAS - Network Attached Storage

Dedicated network devices provide affordable, easy access to data

Several new methods of utilizing computer networks for data storage have emerged in
recent years. One popular approach, Network Attached Storage (NAS), allows homes and
businesses to store and retrieve large amounts of data more affordable than ever before.

Background

Historically, floppy drives have been widely used to share data files, but today the storage needs
of the average person far exceed the capacity of floppies. Businesses now maintain an
increasingly large number of electronic documents and presentation sets including video clips.
Home computer users, with the advent of MP3 music files and JPEG images scanned from
photographs, likewise require greater and more convenient storage.

Central file servers use basic client/server networking technologies to solve these data storage
problems. In its simplest form, a file server consists of PC or workstation hardware running a
network operating system (NOS) that supports controlled file sharing (such as Novell NetWare,
UNIX® or Microsoft Windows). Hard drives installed in the server provide gigabytes of space
per disk, and tape drives attached to these servers can extend this capacity even further.

File servers boast a long track record of success, but many homes, workgroups and small
businesses cannot justify dedicating a fully general-purpose computer to relatively simple data
storage tasks. Enter NAS.

What Is NAS?

NAS challenges the traditional file server approach by creating systems designed specifically for
data storage. Instead of starting with a general-purpose computer and configuring or removing
features from that base, NAS designs begin with the bare-bones components necessary to support
file transfers and add features "from the bottom up."

Like traditional file servers, NAS follows a client/server design. A single hardware device, often
called the NAS box or NAS head, acts as the interface between the NAS and network clients.
These NAS devices require no monitor, keyboard or mouse. They generally run an embedded
operating system rather than a full-featured NOS. One or more disk (and possibly tape) drives
can be attached to many NAS systems to increase total capacity. Clients always connect to the
NAS head, however, rather than to the individual storage devices.

Clients generally access a NAS over an Ethernet7 connection. The NAS appears on the network
as a single "node" that is the IP8 address9 of the head device.

A NAS can store any data that appears in the form of files, such as email boxes, Web content,
remote system backups, and so on. Overall, the uses of a NAS parallel those of traditional file
servers.
NAS systems strive for reliable operation and easy administration. They often include built-in
features such as disk space quotas, secure authentication, or the automatic sending of email alerts
should an error be detected.

NAS Protocols

Communication with a NAS head occurs over TCP/IP10. More specifically, clients utilize any of
several higher-level protocols (application or layer seven protocols in the OSI model11) built on
top of TCP/IP.

The two application protocols most commonly associated with NAS are Sun Network File
System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS). Both NFS and CIFS operate in
client/server fashion. Both predate the modern NAS by many years; original work on these
protocols took place in the 1980s.

NFS was developed originally for sharing files between UNIX systems across a LAN12. Support
for NFS soon expanded to include non-UNIX systems; however, most NFS clients today are
computers running some flavor of the UNIX operating system.

The CIFS was formerly known as Server Message Block (SMB)13. SMB was developed by IBM
and Microsoft to support file sharing in DOS. As the protocol became widely used in Windows,
the name changed to CIFS. This same protocol appears today in UNIX systems as part of the
Samba14 package.

Many NAS systems also support Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)15. Clients can often
download files in their Web browser from a NAS that supports HTTP. NAS systems also
commonly employ HTTP as an access protocol for Web-based administrative user interfaces.

NAS vs. Traditional File Servers

Proponents of NAS claim that NAS technology provides these advantages over traditional file
servers:

 lower cost

 better security
 higher availability (less downtime)
 easier to use and administer

NAS products improve on traditional file servers generally through the principle of
simplification. By stripping out all of the unnecessary capabilities of a general purpose server --
applications, services or daemons, and hardware peripherals -- a NAS device becomes less prone
to system "crashes" and security attacks. When a problem does occur, a NAS system can be
diagnosed and rebooted much faster due to its lower level of complexity.
NAS products also generally hide the operating system personality of the device. Whereas
Windows, UNIX and NetWare file servers each demand specific protocol support on the client
side, NAS systems strive for greater operating system independence of clients.

Opponents of NAS emphasize that traditional file servers have a proven record of success
compared to this new breed of "upstart" NAS systems. High-end file systems also contain more
processing power than a NAS device, giving servers a performance edge (in terms of
transactions or I/O per second rates) over NAS.

NAS vs. SAN

At a high level, Storage Area Networks (SANs) serve the same purpose as a NAS system. A
SAN supplies data storage capability to other network devices. Traditional SANs differed from
traditional NAS in several ways. Specifically, SANs often utilized Fibre Channel7 rather than
Ethernet, and a SAN often incorporated multiple network devices or "endpoints" on a self-
contained or "private" LAN, whereas NAS relied on individual devices connected directly to the
existing public LAN. The traditional NAS system is a simpler network storage solution,
effectively a subset of a full SAN implementation.

The distinction between NAS and SAN has grown fuzzy in recent times, as technology
companies continue to invent and market new network storage products. Today's SANs
sometimes use Ethernet, NAS systems sometimes use Fibre Channel, and NAS systems
sometimes incorporate private networks with multiple endpoints. The primary differentiator
between NAS and SAN products now boils down to the choice of network protocol. SAN
systems transfer data over the network in the form of disk blocks (fixed-sized file chunks, using
low-level storage protocols like SCSI) whereas NAS systems operate at a higher level with the
file itself.

Conclusion

The new breed of NAS networking products has succeeded in providing a reasonable alternative
to traditional file servers in client/server networks. Entry-level NAS products containing 20-50
gigabytes of storage can be purchased for $500 (USD) or less, whereas mid-range and high-end
NAS systems can run in the tens of thousands of dollars. Besides cost, a NAS promises reliable
operation and easy management. Look for the Network Attached Storage technology to keep
evolving as the field matures over the next several years.