Irma D. Rutherford Businesses run on data. With greater opportunities and sources for data collection than ever before and advanced analytics that transform raw data into valuable and actionable information in real time, safeguarding data storage resources is now more important than ever before.
Data should be simple to access, but it must be stored in a secure way to shield it from attacks by malicious hackers, such as machine failures or human error that could compromise the integrity of the data. No matter what, these conditions could be challenging to meet, but considering the volume of data that many enterprises must manage, it could seem impossible.
The positive side is that the tools to develop a successful practice of managing storage for data have been improved significantly with the growth of data capacity to petabyte sizes. It’s not likely that a single technology or method can suffice, which is why using a toolbox approach to managing storage is typically the best approach to make sure that you have the most appropriate solution to the specific setting.
Whatever components make up the storage strategies that the toolkits of administrators They must be addressed at two levels of management
Physical layer. This layer includes all physical devices that form the infrastructure for data storage in an organization comprising drives, arrays, tape libraries, host bus adapters, and networking interconnect cards, as well as storage switchers. A few concerns associated with storage hardware are capacity, performance, and endurance.
Layer of data. At this level, it’s the data to be handled depending on its significance to the company, its weaknesses, and the best way to ensure its accessibility.
We will present various strategies, tools, and options for managing the storage of data. A comprehensive program for managing storage is likely to require many of these methods.
CRM software
Storage resource management (SRM) applications have been around for a long time. However, earlier versions were too complicated and heavy and often ended up being shelfware. Nowadays, many of these applications have been streamlined and are now cheaper and simpler to set up and operate.
In a few instances, storage array companies have bought SRM firms to include SRM capabilities in their operating systems. Standalone SRM applications are still available, for example, QStar Storage Reporter, IntelliMagic Vision for SAN, and ManageEngine OpManager.
SRM is particularly useful in large, multi-vendor environments where tracking many different components of a system is vital to ensure they’re running effectively and that capacity isn’t wasted.
System consolidation
The most significant factor that makes storage management difficult is the array’s size, which expands when new storage systems are introduced to meet the increasing demands of capacity. Storage systems aren’t as powerful, and often, it is easy to increase the power of a storage unit instead of replacing the existing array with a larger capacity model.
However, managing several separate systems can be overwhelming, particularly in the case of NAS systems since it is the fastest-growing type of data used in many stores. The consolidation of multiple storage systems into a single unit will make managing much simpler; however, it may need to purchase data migration software as well as professional assistance, particularly when different vendors make the systems.
Multiprotocol storage arrays
Certain vendors let their customers pick between SAN arrays, which are ideal for block storage systems like databases, or NAS systems that manage data that is not structured well.
More vendors are now offering multiprotocol arrays that accommodate the SAN as well as NAS connectivity and protocols and can be divided between the two based on particular requirements. Multiprotocol storage is a fantastic choice since having both types of storage within one box can reduce costs considerably and make block and file storage much easier to manage.
Storage tiering
The idea of tiered storage has been around for some time. When it was known as the hierarchical management of storage and later the management of information lives, it has never was popularized. However, the idea is easy and makes managing storage systems and data considerably simpler.
Tiering refers to putting information on storage that’s suitable to it’s importance for the business. Important files may be kept on slower, more expensive disks, and frequently used important data can be stored on speedy SSDs. Affixing different tiers to different kinds of data and using appropriate levels of protection for data helps manage all kinds of storage systems and types of data simply.
Install SSDs strategically
One of the biggest storage management issues is figuring out how to configure an array of storage to achieve optimal performance. Through the years, methods have been devised to squeeze every last drop of performance from disk-based systems.
Short-stroking is the process of using just the fastest edge tracks of the hard disk and distributing the data across several short-stroked drives. This method was more efficient; however, it was difficult to control and used up lots of disk space.
This can be avoided by making SSDs into an array in order to take on the demands of applications that require high performance. While SSD is still higher priced than traditional disk drives, smart implementation could reduce costs and make managing speed a breeze.
Archive older data
In many organizations, the majority of the data that is stored on costly storage arrays is outdated and seldom used. It’s expensive and creates administrative burdens for data that isn’t of any current value. Archiving data that is rarely used to media that is less expensive saves the company money and eases the burden of managing.
Older data can be archived to cheaper arrays using high-capacity disk drives, tapes, or cloud-based archive services that offer capacity at reasonable costs. A functioning archive with cloud services, as well as a Linear Tape File System, provides the ability to access archived data when it is required.
Find and remove orphan VMs
Server virtualization has changed the way we work in data centers, allowing servers to be created as required. The ease with which virtual machines can be constructed often leads to many VMs that are no longer being used or removed from the system. These abandoned VMs are still storage of data and are a part of managing tasks, specifically security activities for data.
There are many ways to find and dispose of virtual machines; for instance, administrators can make use of vCenter to create VMware virtual servers or free available Hyper-V scripts and different virtual servers.
Maintain business continuity by using DRaaS.
Backups are often a hassle to manage, but a disaster recovery could be an even greater challenge. In order to be able to recover from a disaster effectively, organizations must keep backups of important data off-site and maintain an off-site server that is ready in the event of an emergency. It’s difficult and costly to establish and maintain that a lot of companies don’t have an effective disaster recovery plan.
Disaster recovery service (DRaaS) can make it feasible for small-sized businesses to have a plan to implement. Critical data, as well as the VMs, are transferred into the cloud DRaaS site. When a disaster occurs, VMs are spun up using the latest data so that businesses can resume normal or similar levels.
