By Automated storage tiering is a solution that enables storage administrators to optimize their IT infrastructure by moving data between high-performance storage devices like SSDs and cost-effective, high-capacity SATA drives with minimal manual intervention. Here is why it is always beneficial to use this feature for efficient storage management.
Understanding the dynamics of storage tiering
To put it simply, it is a system that moves data from slower, cheaper storage media to faster, more expensive storage media to improve performance and reduce access latency and also for storing cold data on low performance and low-cost storage for properly utilizing storage capacity.
The key benefits of this technology are:
- Reduced latency for all applications (especially those with random access patterns)
- Increased bandwidth for all applications
- Lower energy consumption
- Efficient usage of storage capacity
Why use automated storage tiering for data management?
Easy NAS storage management
Most Network Attached Storage systems don’t keep track of unused space; they watch for storage operations and then move data around on the fly. Second, not all disks in your system are equal. Some are faster than others; others are more reliable than others; while some cost more than others; and one has more features than the other, and so on.
Automated storage tiering significantly reduces the time spent on storage management tasks by leveraging automation capabilities which eliminate manual processes like moving hot data to faster storage and cold data to low-performance storage. Based on usage patterns, automated storage tiering will automatically transfer data to its appropriate tier for achieving the most efficient performance to capacity ratio.
Currently, StoneFly is one of the few storage providers that makes some of the best NAS systems and SAN solutions supporting automated storage tiering technology.
Low capital and operating expenses
With automated storage tiering, data is automatically moved between different storage tiers based on the way data is used. Data that has not been in use for some time moves to less expensive (but slower and/or less capacious) storage. This reduces the money spent on maintaining or upgrading high-speed, high-capacity storage.
Automated storage tiering benefits both performance and capacity
Tiered storage architectures ensure that there is enough fast-access storage for the most demanding applications while still having enough storage to move “cold” data off of expensive performance storage devices and onto more affordable slower devices to gain cost efficiency and proper utilization of all your storage capacity.
Faster application performance due to lower latency and reduced I/O overhead
Higher-value or more critical data is stored on faster or higher-performance storage mediums such as solid-state drives (SSDs). The lower-value or less critical information is stored on slower or less expensive secondary storage media such as archival tape libraries and HDDs. This method significantly decreases the latency for mission-critical applications and reduces the overall I/O overhead.
Bottom Line
Automated storage tiering is a data management method that automatically moves data to lower-cost or higher-performance storage devices based on usage patterns. This allows companies to make better use of their storage. Storage tiering helps companies reduce the amount of money they spend on their systems, thereby decreasing TCO and increasing the efficiency of their infrastructure.
