Basic Difference Between DAS and NAS to Choose the Correct Storage Means
There are several computing hardware components in the market, which are used to store, port, and extract data files from the system. These components are known as storage devices, which have the capability to save information and can be in any form either internal or external. Well, based on the network aspect, these storage devices are categorized in following three parts:
- Direct-Attached Storage
- Network-Attached Storage
- Storage Area Network
All these type of network storage devices are different from each other. Therefore, in this blog, one is going to know brief about DAS, NAS, and SAN & then find difference between DAS and NAS.
About Direct Attached Storage
Direct Attached Storage (DAS) network device is connected directly with a computer system through any connecting means like USB, ATA, SATA, FireWire, etc. The DAS file system is settled and held by the operating system of the machine with which DAS is currently connected. Just like an internal hard disk, DAS renders a straightforward access to its disk. Some examples of Direct attached Storage are solid-state drives, optical disk drives, Drobo 5D, and other external storage devices. Well, when talking upon the perspective of data recovery, then the approaches to performing DAS data recovery is same as hard drive recovery. However, it does not involve any hardware, which is related to network and operating environment that enables users to share storage files (or any other resources). The major characteristics of DAS network storage is that there are no additional network devices like router, hub, or switch in between two connecting end points.
Advantages:
- It is simple in use
- Implementation cost is low
- Ease of management
Applications:
- Backup the server data
- Ease in data archiving
About Network Attached Storage
Network Attached Storage (NAS) network device is attached with a PC through the network. Instead of accessing data at the sector level, users can access information on file level over the network. This NAS system is having its own file system, which is once set with proper configuration of NAS and is not dependent upon the operating system of computers from which it is connected. This type of network requires a medium for attaching with several computers. File sharing protocols like NFS, AFP, or CIFS provide access to files in a network. A NAS machine does not involve any gadgets like keyboard or display and is configured and controlled over the network, by using a web browser. Therefore, Network Attached Storage device is successful for small or medium enterprise users for sharing confidential files among their employees.
Advantages:
- Data sharing becomes easy through NAS
- Capacity of information storage is high
- Used as a mean to consolidate resource
- Disk mirroring becomes easy with NAS
Applications:
- Redundant storage space
- Store backup of several machines
About Storage Area Network
Storage Area Network (or SAN) device renders access to unite data of block level. The basic functioning of this network is to enhance devices of the storage like disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, which are operated on the server. It represents itself as a locally attached storage devices for hosting with help of different types of virtualization. The technology used by this type of network is based upon Fibre Channel, which makes use of FCP (Fibre Channel Protocol) for controlling and handling variants of mainframes. Moreover, with help SAN, it is now possible to move traffic of FC across high-speed Ethernet infrastructure, which is already available. In a situation of unexpected natural disaster, storage area network is also used as a means for storage redundancy. Therefore, SAN device is successful for large enterprise users to share secretive files or folder among the different branches of an organization, which is located all around the world.
Advantages:
- Effective device to move large blocks of data
- Availability of this network component is high
- Able to handle any minor failures or faults
Applications:
- Useful to manage large amount of data
- Suitable means for bandwidth intensive
- Reliable for managing multiple users data
Features Based on Difference Between DAS and NAS Storage Based
| S.No | Direct-Attached Storage(DAS) | Network-Attached Storage(NAS) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Directly Attached with computer systems | Attached via a connecting medium |
| 2 | Uses number of connecting cables like fiber optics, SAS, SATA, etc. | Uses connection devices like router, hub, switch, etc. |
| 3 | Developed to be used by single computer | Developed to be used as shared resource |
| 4 | Cannot be managed over a network | Can be easily managed over network |
| 5 | Since there is no network involved therefore, no latency issue exists | Have some latency issues due to problem with network |
| 6 | Easy in setup and configuration | Comparatively complex in setup and configuration |
Observational Verdict
The blog helps a user to know the difference between DAS or NAS. The selection of storage element is totally based upon the need of an end user. In general, the DAS is useful for home users and NAS is useful for small or medium enterprise users. DAS, NAS, and SAN all these three storage devices provide large amount of benefits. Which one to choose is a decision, which one have to use after analyzing their requirements.