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What is software-defined storage? Software-defined storage is a data storage scheme that all storage-related control functions are implemented in software, removing the software’s dependence on proprietary hardware. It uses standardized hardware (such as x86 architecture) as the carrier to realize enterprise-level storage function and service based on software. Yes, It is not the firmware in a storage device, but a software layer which can ensure that the storage access of the system can be managed more flexibly at a precise level. It is used to control storage request to the physical storage, how and where to store data. Software defined storage is abstracted from hardware storage, which also means that it can become a shared pool that does not care the capacity of the underlying hardware, so as to improve efficiency and reduce costs.   Compared with the traditional storage hardware box, the storage software has become the core of SDS. The rise of SDS stems from the rapid development

The primary storage's market is consolidating, leaving only a few vendors as the main players in the market, such as EMC, IBM and HP.  Primary storage's providers will put greater emphasis on the efficiency of the overall stack and financial approaches of subscription like cloud services in the future. Companies like NetApp and Hitachi are expanding their technology stack and moving toward the cloud and big data field, and their primary storage business is not going to have big growth in the future. Hitachi, for example, has shrunk their product lineup and now they actually only have two storage products (VSP 5000 and HCP). They strategically chose to focus on the higher stack, such as IoT, data management, big data analytics and so on, and storage is now critical to their overall strategy. Secondary storage (storage that isn't business-critical) hasn't seen the same kind of consolidation as primary storage, and many startups still have the potential to disrupt the mark

At the bottom of the storage system, there are lots of data. The physical storage medias are limited in a single server, the IO performance is also limited, the distributed storage system is used to fix this problem. It is infrastructure that can store data on multiple physical servers, which behave as one storage system although data is distributed between these servers. It typically takes the form of a cluster of storage servers, with a mechanism for data synchronization and coordination between cluster nodes.  Distributed storage system can store 3 types of storage: file, block, and object. The essential difference is the "user" of the data: the user of the block storage is the software system that can read and write to the block device, such as the traditional file system, database; The user of the file storage is a natural person; The user of object storage is other computer software.  File storage The user of the file storage is a natural person. All data are presents b

There are 3 most prevalent storage types that are primarily deployed by enterprises, which are  DAS (Direct-Attached Storage), NAS (Network-Attached Storage) and SAN (Storage Area Networks). DAS DAS is a traditional mass storage, the storage devices are directly/physically attached to the computer through an internal cable, which does not use any network. This is still a most popular approach. It provides block-level access through Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), etc. Advantages: Storage device is dedicated with high performace compared to NAS Lower cost,  inexpensive. Simple to configure and use Disadvantages: Inability to share data or unused resources with other servers efficiently. This is addressed by NAS ans SAN but at the risk of security and higher initial cost. Can not manage it by network No high availability Hard to expand storage capacity NAS NAS is mass storage attached to a computer which

In engineering, redundancy is the duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the form of a backup or fail-safe, or to improve actual system performance. Storage device may also have the problem such as bit malfunction or data loss, which require data redundancy mechanism to protect data. The following solutions are commonly used and valid for most storage devices: Device mirroring (replication) – A common solution to the problem is constantly maintaining an identical copy of device content on another device (typically of a same type). The downside is that this doubles the storage, and both devices (copies) need to be updated simultaneously with some overhead and possibly some delays. The upside is possible concurrent read of a same data group by two independent processes, which increases performance. When one of the replicated devices is detected to be defective, the other copy is still operational,

There are four types of data storage structures: sequential storage, linked storage, index storage, and hash storage. Sequential and linked structures apply to memory structures. Index and hash structures are suitable for interaction between external memory and memory. Sequential storage: In computer, a group of contiguous storage units are used to store the data elements of a linear table in sequence, called the sequential storage structure of a linear table. Features: Random access table elements; Insertion and deletion operations require moving elements. Linked storage: In computer, data elements of a linear table are stored in an arbitrary set of storage units (which may be contiguous or discontinuous). It does not require logically adjacent elements to be physically adjacent. Therefore, it does not have the weakness of sequential storage structure, but it also loses the advantage of random access of sequential table. Features: Lower storage density compared to sequential storage