Data storage is rapidly evolving. According to Gartner, software-defined storage deployed in the cloud or on-premises will account for 50% of all storage capacity by 2024. Keeping track of the systems used to support and manage your storage necessitates monitoring that can see across all infrastructure wherever your storage is.
What is storage monitoring software?
Storage monitoring is the process of evaluating, monitoring, and controlling your on-premises, cloud-based, and virtual storage systems.
While monitoring different storage infrastructure aspects linked with your applications, storage monitoring keeps you informed about any difficulties relating to business-critical apps and the allocation of storage resources.
Storage monitoring tools give visibility, allowing administrators to take a proactive approach to forecasting, diagnosing, and addressing issues in the storage system, resulting in a better user experience.
What are NAS and SAN?
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
A dedicated file storage device connected to a centrally situated network is referred to as a NAS (LAN). It allows for the storage and retrieval of data by multiple users. NAS stands for network-attached storage, and it is a versatile, scalable, cost-effective, and quick storage system.
Storage Area Network (SAN)
A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed network that allows users to access block-level storage. It divides storage traffic from the rest of the LAN’s traffic. Storage area networks (SANs) aid in increasing storage capacity, network performance, and availability.
SAN is used by businesses to improve efficiency by assigning and managing storage resources. Instead of isolating storage capabilities across separate servers, SAN consolidates storage into a storage pool. This makes it easier to assign storage based on a user’s changing demands. A storage area network (SAN) is made up of interconnected switches, hosts, and storage devices. Fiber channels can be used to connect the components.
NAS VS. SAN
NAS is less expensive and easier to set up than a traditional server. SANs, on the other hand, are high-performance storage devices that are employed in large organizations where network speed is critical. As the network grows, the SAN may easily be expanded and virtualized.
Management of NAS/SAN Devices
- Storage monitoring software aids in the management of storage capacity and the allocation of storage to various applications. It improves user efficiency and saves time.
- Latency tracking can reveal a faulty device or an aged drive. It also aids in the monitoring of device bandwidth utilization.
- To ensure that RAIDs are effectively assigned and exploited to their full potential, LUN monitoring should be done on a regular basis. (A logical unit number (LUN) is a number assigned by the SAN system to each storage device subsection).
- Monitoring the physical health, failures, and outages of storage devices on a regular basis can help handle them.
- Storage over-subscription can also be beneficial, but it comes with hazards that can be mitigated by employing storage monitoring software.
Why is storage monitoring software important?
Storage monitoring software is important since it proactively detects issues so you can start troubleshooting before the storage system suffers substantial slowdowns or outages.
Storage monitoring software has become critical to company success. This is due to the increased adoption of big data and virtualization over the years. Key applications may fail, and data may be lost. If any storage layer within the infrastructure fails, or even just slows down, this can have a significant impact on your company, disrupting business continuity, and productivity.
What are key storage monitoring performance metrics to track?
The key storage monitoring performance metrics to track are:
- Latency
- Throughput
- IOPS
- Utilization
- Queue length
- Capacity available
Latency
Latency is a key storage monitoring parameter that determines how quickly a storage device responds to queries. The time it takes for data to be read from or written to the disc is usually measured in milliseconds.
Throughput
The number of bytes read to or written from the device per second is measured by throughput, which is a close cousin of delay. Throughput will fluctuate depending on data transfer demand, but the aim of monitoring throughput is to ensure that a device is not constantly “maxed out” at its peak rate.
IOPS
IOPS is a widely used metric that measures how many reads and writes a device successfully completes per second. It is closely connected to throughput. It is the analyst’s responsibility to check that the actual IOPS metric for each device is reasonably near the required IOPS and that it is not deteriorating with time, which could suggest a larger problem.
Utilization
This indicator refers to the CPU utilization of the SAN, and it measures the amount of time spent processing various storage requests. If utilization rises beyond 50% for more than a few seconds, it may signal an issue with the SAN.
Queue Length
A storage device’s queue length (also known as queue depth) is the number of outstanding input and output requests at any given time. Because a disc can usually only handle one operation at a time, some queueing is unavoidable, though the number should always be low (under three at any given time). Queue length and latency are also related; a long queue but low latency indicates that your storage devices are able to keep up with high demand.
Capacity available
This is a straightforward statistic for determining storage resources, specifically the amount of free space on a storage device.
How do storage monitoring tools work?
Storage monitoring tools can sample data in real time, to then examine them as an average over a certain period, and graph them to be visualized. This helps IT staff keep track of these figures.
By employing intelligence to advise the analyst whether something demands attention, high-quality storage monitoring software as part of your routine management software bundle will make it easier.
What are the benefits of storage monitoring?
A well-implemented storage monitoring solution has numerous advantages:
- Simple footage recovery
- Automatic data backup
- Cost-effectiveness
- Flexible storage
- Easy access
- Remote troubleshooting
- Effective for business
- Regular updates
Simple footage recovery
Assume a large fire broke out in your office, destroying all of your computer systems as well as storage devices containing all of your CCTV footage. How are you going to get the data for the investigation?
Storage monitoring is critical in combating these situations. It provides the storage of surveillance data on a centralized server or cloud that can be accessed from any smartphone, tablet, or laptop device with ease.
Automatic Data Backup
Video surveillance storage solutions back up the footage automatically off-site. It resolves the majority of concerns since, even if your CCTV camera stops working due to a technical defect or malfunction, your video footage will be saved in the cloud. The advantage here is that you will be able to access it and review the tape.
Cost-Effectiveness
Cost control is a major challenge for businesses. With typical monitoring systems, a company would have to spend a significant amount of money to set up the surveillance infrastructure before installing cameras. To get started in full form, the initial investment of gear, storage devices, and manpower would take a significant amount of time and money.
In a classic non-cloud monitoring system with many offices, each site requires its own server to function. These upfront costs are eliminated with cloud video surveillance, which proves to be quite cost-effective in the long run. As a result, it provides excellent value due to the ease of configuration in low-level support and the lack of additional costs.
Flexible Storage
Every day, security cameras generate a massive amount of data. For a non-cloud surveillance ecosystem, storing this footage for an extended period of time has proven difficult. Traditional video storage monitoring uses limited hard drives, thus footage had to be cleared out early to make room for new recordings. However, you may store more data with cloud storage monitoring.
Cloud storage is large enough to hold all of your important video files, and you can keep them for as long as you wish. It is better than buying another expensive hard drive, but in the case of typical video surveillance, you still have to worry about the footage being damaged or stolen.
Easy Access
Cloud storage monitoring systems can be accessed from anywhere in the world. It is a huge plus to be able to access your recorded footage at any time. You can also share the footage if necessary. When you are away from the office, you might want to know when a specific employee arrived on a specific date. You can immediately go to the cloud and inspect it. The cloud storage ecosystem is built in such a way that distant operations are possible.
Remote Troubleshooting
Monitoring tools for cloud storage is simple and less expensive to maintain. If there is a lag in the opening, you may troubleshoot it without having to be physically present in the control room. Because of this, the client places a high value on cloud monitoring solutions. Its ability to give a quick-fix solution, without relying on on-site specialists or rushing to respond in emergency, making it a favored alternative for businesses.
Effective for Businesses
The management of an organization’s office space is essential. Traditional surveillance necessitates a significant amount of hardware. Assume your IT room is full of hard disks containing video monitoring footage, and your IT crew needs to search through them in the event of an emergency. Due to a lack of office space, they are now forced to store it in various locations.
When you use cloud storage monitoring, though, you’ll have all of your film at your fingertips in no time, in the order you want it. You may use the cloud to search for and locate them. It also frees up space in your office, which may be used for other things. This is unquestionably beneficial to your company.
Regular Updates
To keep your surveillance storage management system running smoothly, you will need to keep it updated on a regular basis. Unlike traditional surveillance storage systems, the cloud storage monitoring ecosystem automatically updates without interrupting operations. It doesn’t necessitate any on-site equipment, so there is no fuss. A cloud-based video surveillance storage simplifies storage management installation.
Storage Performance Monitoring With DataIntell
DataIntell is an application designed to help you better understand your data and storage utilization. Its performance monitoring analytic tool helps identify old and unused files and gives better insights into data changes, file duplication and used space overtime. It is designed to help deal with managing large amounts of data growth and provide detailed analytics of your data use.
