Network Storage Architectures

The development of computer-related technologies and the increasing service loads of computers pose higher requirements for storage capacity and speed. Although storage arrays can increase capacity and speed by stacking more storage units in a single device, they address only single-disk limitations. The requirements for the entire storage system, including scalability, stability, and shared access, are not fully satisfied. The development of storage protocols such as the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and Fibre Channel (FC) has made network storage a mainstay. There are different types of storage architecture, including direct-attached storage (DAS), centralized network storage such as network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN), and distributed storage such as parallel storage, peer-to-peer (P2P) storage, and cloud storage. This chapter will introduce and discuss these storage architectures.