Does Cloud Computing Mean the End of Traditional Storage Networks?

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Michael Goodenough.

We all have a lot of “stuff” in our homes, garages and even cars. We run out of places to put our items so oftentimes that means either downsizing what we have or finding new places store it. Computer data is no different. If we run out of space on a personal computer, tablet or server, we often delete old files or transfer data to a storage network.

Primary and Secondary Traditional Storage

Traditional storage is generally broken up into Primary and Secondary storage. Primary storage includes storage area networks (SAN), direct-attached disks (DAS) and network-attached storage (NAS). Primary storage is generally accessed on a random basis, and it acts as support for active applications. Secondary storage is your backup storage, designed to protect your data. Three major types of secondary storage include optical disk, tape media and virtual tape libraries (VTL)…

The performance and costs of primary and secondary traditional storage varies widely with Tier 1 storage options costing the most. One of the major issues with traditional storage networks is that IT admins have to either under- or over-estimate the organization’s needs, leaving either gaps or too much storage. At least this was the traditional way of backing up data. The entrance of cloud storage has changed the game a bit…

Read more from the source @ http://www.forbes.com/sites/centurylink/2013/04/09/does-cloud-computing-mean-the-end-of-traditional-storage-networks/