In any business, data storage is a crucial element. The way your data is stored will affect your company’s efficiency, security, and accessibility. Data storage also ensures that your files and information are kept safe in the event of system failure, cyber-attacks, and more. A storage system will keep your files backed up and easy to access when necessary – ensuring faster recovery and streamlined processes. In this blog article, we’ll be defining Direct Attached Storage (DAS), seeing how it works, what benefits it has, and how it compares to Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN). First, let’s get a better idea of what DAS storage is.
What Is Direct Attached Storage (DAS)?
Direct Attached Storage – or DAS storage – can be defined as a storage system that connects directly to your computer, PC, Workstation, Server or host system. DAS storage does not need to connect to a network to store data. The simplest example of a Direct Attached Storage device would be an external hard drive, CD, or USB drive. DAS storage solutions use block-level access protocol to access data by applications. This means that DAS can only connect to one computer or server at a time – ensuring that any data stored there cannot be accessed by other devices in the network unless they connect to the host computer first.
DAS storage can be further categorized into two groups: external and internal storage. Internal DAS includes internal hard disk drives (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD) found inside your computer or server. At the same time, external DAS usually refers to a direct-attached storage enclosure such as an external hard drive, tape, SSD, or USB flash drive that needs to connect to the computer using a cable. Now, let’s focus on how DAS storage works.
How Does DAS Storage Work?
Direct Attached Storage requires a direct connection in which the host computer’s operating system will identify the storage system through its internal DAS drive. The DAS system is connected through the Host Bus Adapter (HBA) which will allow the host computer to access data directly. The host computer can then control and manage the DAS enclosure as needed. Data can then be transferred however necessary at different speeds depending on the type of connection used – this could be a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Serial ATA (SATA), or USB connection. We can now see what DAS storage is mostly used for.
What is DAS Storage Used For?
DAS storage solutions are often used to keep data for smaller businesses or individuals where files do not need to be shared widely across the network. Direct Attached Storage can help small to medium-sized businesses seamlessly store data and create a backup system in a practical, affordable, and efficient way without risking exposure. However, as with every technology, Direct Attached Storage isn’t always the ideal solution for your needs. Let’s look at some of the main pros and cons of using DAS storage.
Advantages and Disadvantages of DAS Storage
While DAS storage systems can be beneficial in most cases, they can also have certain limitations. These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of Direct Attached Storage solutions:
Advantages of Direct Attached Storage
- Elevated Performance: Naturally, a DAS storage system provides streamlined processing because data is easily accessible once connected to the host device. Without the need for network connectivity, DAS won’t be affected by network congestion or latency issues.
- High Transfer Speeds: Direct Attached Storage does not use network connections which also means that the server does not have to traverse a network to read and write data for a transfer to be processed. This makes every transfer much faster.
- Easy to Use: DAS is quite simple and not overly complex to use or configure. Most computers come with an internal DAS drive that can be accessed easily. Most external DAS systems simply need to be plugged into a USB port to begin data transfers.
- Affordable: Direct Attached Storage solutions are often cost-efficient as well. While other storage solutions require hardware and software to run, DAS only needs external disk drives or a DAS enclosure.
Disadvantages of Direct Attached Storage
- Limited Scalability: While they can be faster, DAS solutions also have a limited amount of space for storage. Expanding your business data over time will require more hard drives and can become a tedious and costly chore.
- Lack of Centralized Management: DAS systems are often managed by one host computer and limit any access from outside that host computer. While this can lower data exposure it also limits centralized management and access across the network to possibly vital company data.
- Less Flexibility: DAS solutions also come with limited compatibility. These storage systems connect to a certain type of host device which can restrict the way you can share data with others.
- Risk of Data Loss: Directly Attached Storage systems are more vulnerable to hardware failures if the host server or computer fails. This means that your data is in danger of being lost, damaged, or stolen.
When choosing the right storage situation for your needs, you need to understand the benefits and pitfalls of each option. Let’s further your understanding of DAS storage by showing you some examples and situations where Direct Attached Storage can be used in real life.
Examples and Use Cases of DAS Storage
Direct Attached Storage is mostly used by smaller organizations or businesses that don’t have a large network to share information across. The speed, efficiency, and affordability of DAS make it a popular choice for practical situations where streamlined data transfers are important. Businesses might find themselves turning to DAS storage solutions when facing the need for:
- Budget-friendly storage solutions
- Faster transfers
- Simpler storage solutions
- Streamlined processing
- Easy maintenance and configuration
While Direct Attached Storage (DAS) can be a great choice for a smaller business, it might buckle under the pressure of a more complex and larger organization. This is why network-based storage solutions offer a better landscape for data sharing across multiple systems. Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Access Network (SAN) are both examples of more advanced storage solutions that use network connectivity to store data for much bigger companies. Now, we can compare NAS vs SAN or DAS vs NAS to find out what suits your business needs best. However, we’ve made it easier and compared all three storage solutions to give you a better understanding.
DAS vs NAS vs SAN: What Is the Difference?
Network Attached Storage provides data storage through a network. With features like RAID and exchangeable drives, NAS storage solutions are often designed for more complex multi-drive workloads. This system can also be a good choice for small to medium-sized businesses that have a bit more money to invest in storage. Storage Area Network (SAN) refers to a high-performance storage system that’s used mostly in larger enterprises – valued for having the speed of DAS with the reliability of NAS systems.
When it comes to DAS vs NAS, people might assume the comparison is for smaller and bigger businesses. However, when it comes to NAS vs SAN, you have to consider a few more factors to find the right option. For this reason, we’ve created a table comparing DAS, NAS, and SAN storage solutions to make your choice simpler:
| Direct Attached Storage (DAS) |
Network Attached Storage (NAS) |
Storage Area Network (SAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Attaches directly to the host device. | Connected to a computer network. Ethernet-based. | Connects via a high-speed network. Ethernet and Fibre Channel-based. |
| Uses sectors for backup and recovery. | Uses files for storage, backup, and recovery. | Uses block-by-block copying for storage, backup, and recovery. |
| Limited storage management features. | Includes advanced storage management features like remote replication and snapshots. | Includes advanced storage management features like remote replication and snapshots. |
| Simple design that’s easy to use. | More complex than DAS. | More complex than DAS. |
| Used by smaller businesses or individuals. | Used by small to medium-sized businesses. | Used by larger businesses and corporations. |
| Faster data transfer rates without network limitations. | Can be slower than DAS due to latency and network issues. | Can be slower than DAS due to latency and network issues. |
| Easy to set up and install. | More difficult to set up. | More difficult to install and set up. |
| More affordable. | Can be more expensive than DAS. | Can be more expensive than DAS. |
| Limited capacity of 109 bytes. | Capacity ranges between 109 to 1012 bytes. | SAN capacity range is more than 1012 bytes. |
| Does not allow users to share the files on different OS. | Allows users to share the files on different OS. | Allows users to share the files on different OS. |
| Limited scalability. | Can be scaled upwards as needed. | Can be scaled upwards as needed. |
Direct Attached Storage is a dependable, practical, and affordable storage solution that helps businesses adapt to a dynamic environment. While it has its share of limitations, it can still be a useful tool for a growing business. Comparisons between DAS solutions and their more complex NAS and SAN counterparts might make them seem lesser, however, DAS storage systems are uniquely built for specific purposes that cannot be compared within the context of each business.
Using the right storage solution for your needs can be difficult. Fortunately, Sangfor can help out when you need a platform with flexible, fast, and adaptive features for storage. Sangfor’s aStor uses software-defined technology to consolidate various storage resources – including block, file, and object storage - into a unified resource pool for elastic expansion and on-demand allocation. With a fully symmetrical distributed architecture, aStor provides flexible allocation of different storage resources as you see fit. For information on how we can revolutionize the way your data is handled, contact Sangfor Technologies today.
