One doesn't need a degree in Computer Engineering to be able to grasp the intricacies of JBOD and data storage. The acronym means "Just a Bunch of Disks." You might have many old disks that you don't need anymore and rather than disposing them or selling them on eBay or some other second hand stuff for sale website, you could save time, money and effort by putting using them in a data storage disc system. It is a cost effective way of aggregating viable storage space into a cohesive whole. It has many applications that could save your enterprise on storage costs and efficiency.
Complicated computer jargon like NAS Storage, NAS Raid, cloud storage, arrays and such need not be intimidating specially if your curriculum vitae doesn't necessarily have Computer Engineering in it. NAS for example is simply Network Access Storage or something very much akin to a file server, only that it doesn't have a full-fledged operating system but a stripped down version of it. RAID is just another acronym that's taken to mean, Redundant Array of Independent Disks which is similar though technically different with larger storage systems. Although they really are just a bunch of disks. Suffice to say that for each system, you have an enclosure to contain the disks - and a collection of hard disks.
That's the beauty of these different storage systems, you get to pick one for a particular purpose that your organization or company needs. For instance, these devices or systems are good for archiving. RAID is good for close to paranoid backup systems because they provide multiple redundancies and NAS is good for networked backups.
For instance, if you have a JBOD system, you can get some old and dusty hard drives that are just lying in the corner and then put them in an enclosure to combine into one single virtual drive. This is useful whenever you want to backup not so critical information that's needed to be backed up.
One of the advantages of having a unified virtual drive that is composed of smaller drives is simplicity. You may want to install a particular software or operating system on such a drive. Programs nowadays tend to have larger and larger requirements that wouldn't fit in legacy disks. Also, it does away with the confusion that is inherent with multiple drive setups. You wouldn't have to remember which disk drive you put a particular folder or file into.
For one, JBOD systems use "spanning" and "concatenation", which are merely the words used to inform you of how your disks combined to form just one disk. RAID systems form an array or a collection that ensures that there will always be multiple copies of the same file.
In every system there are also disadvantages. JBODs become problematic when one of the physical drives conk out. Though RAID systems are very hardy when it comes to backup, they can be quite difficult to maintain and configure specially if you don't have a full time IT Manager. Since NAS are entirely network reliant, they tend to clog up the network connections. These are the down sides to each system, if you are in a position to decide which one your company needs, it's best that you consult with peers who have had experience with each so that you'll get a fuller picture of your data storage needs.
In a nutshell those are the advantages and disadvantages of these systems. Perhaps another aspect of these disc setups is that it is very cheap to implement and maintain. Most enterprises use them as an archival system meant to keep backups of files that are not always used in the same level as active files. By using old and spanned disks, these files can be stored in an easy to access fashion that does not require extensive capital outlay.
Complicated computer jargon like NAS Storage, NAS Raid, cloud storage, arrays and such need not be intimidating specially if your curriculum vitae doesn't necessarily have Computer Engineering in it. NAS for example is simply Network Access Storage or something very much akin to a file server, only that it doesn't have a full-fledged operating system but a stripped down version of it. RAID is just another acronym that's taken to mean, Redundant Array of Independent Disks which is similar though technically different with larger storage systems. Although they really are just a bunch of disks. Suffice to say that for each system, you have an enclosure to contain the disks - and a collection of hard disks.
That's the beauty of these different storage systems, you get to pick one for a particular purpose that your organization or company needs. For instance, these devices or systems are good for archiving. RAID is good for close to paranoid backup systems because they provide multiple redundancies and NAS is good for networked backups.
For instance, if you have a JBOD system, you can get some old and dusty hard drives that are just lying in the corner and then put them in an enclosure to combine into one single virtual drive. This is useful whenever you want to backup not so critical information that's needed to be backed up.
One of the advantages of having a unified virtual drive that is composed of smaller drives is simplicity. You may want to install a particular software or operating system on such a drive. Programs nowadays tend to have larger and larger requirements that wouldn't fit in legacy disks. Also, it does away with the confusion that is inherent with multiple drive setups. You wouldn't have to remember which disk drive you put a particular folder or file into.
For one, JBOD systems use "spanning" and "concatenation", which are merely the words used to inform you of how your disks combined to form just one disk. RAID systems form an array or a collection that ensures that there will always be multiple copies of the same file.
In every system there are also disadvantages. JBODs become problematic when one of the physical drives conk out. Though RAID systems are very hardy when it comes to backup, they can be quite difficult to maintain and configure specially if you don't have a full time IT Manager. Since NAS are entirely network reliant, they tend to clog up the network connections. These are the down sides to each system, if you are in a position to decide which one your company needs, it's best that you consult with peers who have had experience with each so that you'll get a fuller picture of your data storage needs.
In a nutshell those are the advantages and disadvantages of these systems. Perhaps another aspect of these disc setups is that it is very cheap to implement and maintain. Most enterprises use them as an archival system meant to keep backups of files that are not always used in the same level as active files. By using old and spanned disks, these files can be stored in an easy to access fashion that does not require extensive capital outlay.
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