Small offices turn to NAS

Networked-attached storage typically elicits one of two reactions, depending on whom you talk to: Either, "Oh, NAS is too advanced for a small company like ours!" Or "NAS? That's just a toy for home computer users!"

While the first NAS devices were small boxes designed for adding additional storage to a small or home network, today NAS devices span the range of "small" 20G- and 40G-byte units, up through 7 to 8 terabytes. Despite the growth in capacity, NAS vendors such as Dell, FIA, Maxtor, Quantum and Tricord have been working hard to keep the complexity of the devices under control, making NAS boxes an excellent choice for a small to midsize business. NAS storage starts as low as $500 for a 20G-byte Quantum NAS server, and you can pay as little as $7 per gigabyte when you purchase a large NAS device, such as the Dell or Maxtor NAS servers that can support from 1 to 7 terabytes.

What's in a NAS?
NAS servers are turnkey devices that house a cluster of hard drives, the hardware needed to connect to a network, and the hardware and software to make it work. A number of vendors claim you can set up their NAS servers in less than 30 minutes. The first NAS servers were based on Linux, various versions of BSD Unix, or even proprietary software. In the past year, the picture began to change as vendors such as Dell and Maxtor began basing their NAS boxes on Windows 2000 and Microsoft's Server Appliance Kit (SAK). Why go with Windows? This camp argues it's easier to implement Win 2000 and SAK than to fund the development costs of their own NAS boxes. Win 2000/SAK-based NAS servers use Microsoft's Internet Infor-mation Server (IIS) to provide Web-based management of the Win 2000/SAK-based servers. In light of the recent Code Red worm exploiting IIS, many system managers are reluctant to depend on a Microsoft-based solution.

Some small-business owners use NAS servers to extend existing networks, while others, like Sean Porcher, use them as the core of new networks. As director of operations for the California regional Jiffy Lube, Porcher was fed up with running an office connected by sneaker net, so he installed the FIA POPnetserver 2000 NAS to serve shared files. Installation was easy, and Porcher says he's happy with the results. System managers in midsize businesses report they use NAS servers to store e-mail files, software installation information and any data they'd rather keep off more expensive Windows NT or NetWare server-based storage.

When purchasing a NAS server, consider compatibility, security, expandability, manageability and performance. Compatibility de-ter--mines what sort of computers you can use with the NAS device. Most use IBM PC compatible computers and/or Macintosh com-puters. If you have a network in place, ensure the NAS device you're considering will work with your network operating system. Most NAS servers will support Win NT/2000, NetWare in bindery mode and Unix's Network File System. How-ever, many still don't support Microsoft's Active Dir-ectory or Novell's Net-Ware Directory Ser-vices.

Security and data protection
Most NAS servers include built-in security systems to limit ac-cess to files to people who log on and are authorized. Most will work with the security systems of the existing network operating systems they're compatible with, so the operating system decides who may access which files and the NAS server follows its lead. This means the additional maintenance for supporting a NAS device is minimal.

Data needs to be protected against loss. This can occur as the result of hardware failure, such as a drive failing. Every NAS vendor lets you configure the drives in its server as a RAID, with all except the very least-expensive offering RAID Level 1 or higher, which prevents data loss in the case of a single drive failure. For more details on RAID, check out Network World Fusion's research section on storage-area networks: www. nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 6327.

While RAID protects your network against hardware-induced data loss, it can't protect it against catastrophes or data erasure - whether malicious or accidental - so you also need a data back-up solution. All the NAS vendors bundle their own back-up software, provide client software to work with enterprise back-up systems or have an interface that lets you connect a tape drive directly to the NAS device.

Surprisingly, many NAS users still don't understand the importance of regular data backup. But consider this: A University of Wis-consin report showed that of the companies that lost their data in a disaster, 43% never reopened their doors, and 29% were out of business within two years.

As a second line of defense, a number of companies have added snapshot technology to defend against lost data. The snapshot mechanism keeps de-leted information around until the space it uses on your hard drive needs to be used for other purposes. This doesn't protect you against equipment theft or damage, but it does cover most typical data loss. At this point, Microsoft's SAK and the NAS servers that use it have an advantage in this area while the other vendors are scrambling to catch up.

Scalability and speed
Expandability is a vital issue - some studies suggest data-storage needs double every four months in some companies. While budget systems such as the inexpensive Quantum Snap-Servers are stand-alone boxes that don't offer expansion, larger systems make scaling easy. The Maxtor or Tricord products let users add additional boxes and cable them together. Tricord has users add additional servers, connected through a private network. The servers have a self-adjusting RAID-like construct that moves data between servers when servers are added to the network. Because each server adds a processor and network connection as the system is ex-panded, system performance improves.

Performance is, of course, the Holy Grail to network managers. Any device we looked at for our features comparison chart should perform well for a small office - say 10 users, or even more if they aren't putting heavy demands on the NAS server. However, as the size of the network grows, users will need to make sure the NAS box is up to the task. All the vendors talk about performance, and all will compare it - and their prices - to the cost of an NT server.

As office size goes up, so to will the need for storage space and performance demands. The best bet here is to get a reasonable evaluation period to make sure the performance will actually meet the office's needs. This is where having a good relationship with a reseller can be invaluable.

Mike is Network World's Reviews Editor. He researches new products, works with freelance reviewers and edits reviews. Mike joined Network World in February 2001 after a number of years as an independent consultant and a freelance product reviewer and writer. Mike's work appeared regularly in InfoWorld, Network Computing, Network World, the Review of Texas Literature, and Southwest Brewing News. Before setting out on his own, Mike worked as a programmer, systems analyst, network analyst, and network manager for a range of public and private organizations.

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