Network Attached Storage

Network Attached Storage (NAS) has become more important with all the big data and mobile devices out there. There has been nothing less than a massive increase in the amount of unstructured data which companies now have to handle. Lots of it comes as a result of the more mobile workforce. That means more personal devices in the workplace. Consider, too, that the data includes email attachments, graphics and videos. These are large files.

There are some new products from Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) aimed at the small-to-medium sized business sector trying to keep up with this need – by increasing storage capacity and simplifying management. The HP X5000 is a clustered NAS platform. It cuts down the time IT staff needs to spend on tasks. It also provides more mobile file access, according to a report carried on TMCnet.

The need is there. There are more than 1.1 billion mobile devices now being used globally. That means businesses need to give access to, manage and ensure security for the devices and data that is generated by them, TMCnet said.

Britt Terry, a marketing manager for HP Storage, says HP has updated the X5000 NAS platform. Office is part of the reason why. "Windows Office productivity tools are driving a large amount of unstructured data growth," Terry was quoted by Infostor.

HP says the X5000 can “reclaim up to 30 percent of existing disk space,” Infostor adds. That means more efficient rack space and lower energy usage, according to the report. Power is cut by as much as 58 percent and the need for cooling drops by up to 63 percent, according to HP statements.

Most recently, HP added to the X5000 a small form factor (SFF) drive chassis, according to news reports. It features 36 X SFF disk drive slots. It also has 3TB 7,200rpm 3.5-inch disk drives in the Large Form Factor (FLL) X5000 G2 (News - Alert) chassis. It provides, too, file deduplication which can recover up to 40 percent of the system's capacity, according to The Register – reporting HP’s claims. Also, 32.4TB is available for user data on the X5000. The older version provided for 48TB, according to news reports. In addition, as much as 192TB of capacity is available for one X5000 G2 network storage system, compared to the earlier 100TB capacity, The Register (News - Alert) said.

In addition, Computerworld says the Windows-based HP X5520 array can scale as much as 122TB with expansion units.

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