Network Attached Storage (NAS) Technologies

Alliance Storage Technologies, Inc. (ASTI) Network-Attached Storage (NAS) solutions make management of archive appliance systems easy. Our solutions are designed specifically for data archiving and incorporate features that can substantially reduce business risks and costs. These regulatory compliant data archiving solutions are suitable for any business, organization, or industry with a requirement for archiving data securely over the long term.

NAS solutions differ from Direct-Attach Archive Libraries significantly. A NAS solution, commonly referred to as a NAS Appliance, is a complete storage subsystem, consisting of both hardware and software resources. This combined technology, facilitates the ability of heterogeneous clients to connect over the local area network to store and retrieve files. NAS can be included as part of a more sophisticated storage area network (SAN) system.

This eliminates the need, as with Direct Attached Libraries, for a separate server and storage management software to manage the library and present it to specific applications or users. NAS solutions utilize industry standard interfaces to provide standard access, eliminating customized integration needs.

NAS devices consist of an integrated server and hard disk storage that includes a multi-disk Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) systems. NAS software can usually handle a number of network protocols including Microsoft's Common Internet File System (CIFS) and Sun Microsystems' Network File System (NFS) as well as any that have the ability to access a network file share.

NAS Storage is attached to a local area network (LAN) and assigned an IP address, allowing both application programming and files to be served faster because they are not competing for processor resources. NAS devices are usually configured with a web browser.