Chapter 4
Intelligent Storage Systems
Key Concepts
Business-critical applications require high levels of performance, availability, security, and scalability. A disk drive is a core element of storage that governs the performance of any storage system. Some of the older disk-array technologies could not overcome performance constraints due to the limitations of disk drives and their mechanical components. RAID technology made an important contribution to enhancing storage performance and reliability, but disk drives, even with a RAID implementation, could not meet the performance requirements of today's applications.
With advancements in technology, a new breed of storage solutions, known as intelligent storage systems, has evolved. These intelligent storage systems are feature-rich RAID arrays that provide highly optimized I/O processing capabilities. These storage systems are configured with a large amount of memory (called cache) and multiple I/O paths and use sophisticated algorithms to meet the requirements of performance-sensitive applications. These arrays have an operating environment that intelligently and optimally handles the management, allocation, and utilization of storage resources. Support for flash drives and other modern-day technologies, such as virtual storage provisioning and automated ...
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