Components of a storage system Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is a storage system / array?
A hardware device that houses multiple storage drives within a cabinet
What is a storage drive?
A device used to store and retrieve digital data in a computer or electronic system.
What’s primary storage?
Refers to when a system is actively using the data that’s being stored
What’s secondary storage?
Refers to the data that isn’t needed immediately
What is a storage pool?
When multiple drives attached to system are linked and increase total storage capacity
What are the two primary components of a storage array?
The controller and storage drives
What is a controller?
An external device that manages the storage drives. A specialized operating system is installed on the controller to manage capacity, scalability, security, performance and business continuity.
What is a controller comprised of?
A processor, memory and cache.
What is a drive enclosure?
A chassis that hold and power multiple drives. Often modular and can be expanded with additional shelves
What’s a shelf / disk shelf / drive shelf?
A modular unit that holds multiple HDDs / SSDS and connects to a storage controller. Think of a shelf as a drawer to add more capacity.
How can servers connect to a storage system?
They can be directly attached (DAS) or over a network (SAN / Network)
What is a storage node?
Another way to refer toa controller with one or more disk drives attached
What’s caching?
A temporary storage area for a smaller set of data that can be more quickly accessed. It stores frequency accessed portions of source data to service an I/O request.
What is storage cluster?
One or more nodes that are grouped together to create a scalable solution. Depending on the environment they may require one or more networks depending on the environment
What is a switch?
A networking device that connects servers or nodes together to allow them to communicate quickly and efficiently
What is scale up storage?
A type of storage architecture that grows by adding more disks to an existing storage system to increase capacity and performance.
What is scale out storage?
A type of storage architecture that grows by adding more nodes / systems to expand capacity and balance workloads across them
