Improving local storage capacity and flexibility

I said it years ago, but it's even more true today: you can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much data storage. Now that you can buy hard drives holding a terabyte of data (1,000 gigabytes) for a little over $100, you might think storage isn't a problem anymore. But upgrading storage across various desktops and laptops isn't really data storage, it's just data scattered. Organized storage takes some planning, so let's talk about three new products that will help you intelligently increase local storage capacity.

We’ll start by examining an upgraded  network-attached storage (NAS) product from Netgear that small companies can use to add shared storage, then look at how larger companies with a file server can flexibly increase storage with the new DroboPro storage system. Finally, let's hear from Blurb Publishing, a company that just moved to a  storage-area network (SAN) from Pillar Data Systems.

Netgear bought a small NAS vendor named Infrant Technologies a couple of years ago and the company’s newest model, the ReadyNAS NVX, hit the streets last month.

The Netgear box holds up to four disk drives in a desktop form factor aimed at small businesses. Many companies buy a NAS in place of a full file server to get shared storage for less money and less hassle. If you have more than a few personal computers and are looking for an organized way to store and backup user data, this is a great next step.

Users access the ReadyNAS NVX like any workgroup drive, from PCs or Macintoshes. Storage areas can be shared with everyone, shared with selected users or completely private. A good NAS does most of what an entry level file server does for less money and minimal management overhead.

Netgear's new box includes some high-end features. It's twice as fast as the previous generation, which won't matter for many jobs but will help those doing audio and video file manipulation. It includes PC backup software and fully supports Apple's Time Machine backup across the network. Yes, that means Apple users no longer have to sneakernet USB drives between systems.

Even better, Netgear made a deal with ElephantDrive to back up files to their hosted data center. It's free for a month, then is offered at a discounted rate. And since Netgear provides both the box and the drives inside, it offers a five year warranty. Pricing starts at $1,499.

If you already have a file server, then you can increase storage by adding more drives inside your server. That's called DAS for direct-attached storage because your disks are directly attached to your server. But adding random disks makes for a tough transition since you have to erase and redo your data storage structure. And, of course, your server's down while you're adding and rebuilding your storage.

DroboPro, from Data Robotics, uses an external drive system attached to your server that makes storage more flexible. The company managed to provide storage redundancy based on saving data across multiple disks while bypassing the management time and restrictions of typical redundant disk storage. It calls this technique “BeyondRAID” (Redundant Array of Independent Disks).