The fastest-growing tech use case for NAS has been in the area of computational storage. The earliest days of NAS were all about file sharing, with little consideration for other data services. However, the convergence of Enterprise NAS technologies into the data center and innovations in software and hardware has fueled an explosion in their use for computational storage. But network attached storage systems are now in demand to perform data services like analytics, search and business intelligence. Thanks to its advanced web-scale features, an enterprise NAS storage solution can act as a computational storage device.
The most significant benefit that computational storage has is that it boosts the efficiency of storage applications that are data intensive. This is a huge benefit for small and medium-sized businesses and online companies, particularly since processing and storing data is one of the major problems that new entrepreneurs face every day. In addition, real-time data analytics can be improved because of the CSDs processing capabilities integrated directly into the storage. Another significant benefit of computational storage is that it can be used using various methods; for example, they can be used in storage applications or embedded into storage drives. Although the majority of storage hard drives contain microprocessors, CSDs hold even more powerful processors. As a result, they can be used to perform a range of tasks, such as data compression and encryption methods that are similar to those employed by SSL or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protection – for instance, StoneFly’s enterprise NAS storage systems use AES 256-bit encryption that is military-grade encryption and is almost impossible to break. The best NAS systems provide the most effective solution in an era where traditional storage systems have been overwhelmed by the volume and speed of data generated by the vast majority of online companies.
However, as databases have expanded in number and data has evolved to include AI, advanced analytics, and machine learning, It's becoming evident that the latest innovations in data storage and processing are essential. The amount of data stored and processed by SMEs is much more than it has been before. Unfortunately, traditional storage structures are no longer keeping pace with volumes of data. An excellent solution is enterprise NAS storage, offering enterprises a more efficient and more reliable choice for database storage. It is only a matter of time that Enterprise NAS storage becomes the standard for storage.
Networks are the foundation of modern businesses, and storage is an integral part of network infrastructure. Therefore, data center capacity must be scalable to support the information explosion that occurs in every industry. An ordinary NAS server can easily handle file sharing at high speeds, making it an excellent choice for small businesses. However, if you need more than this, it's time to consider enterprise NAS solutions as computational storage delivering real-time data protection and high availability at a petabyte-scale.