Terminology

Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Lists of permissions that specify which users may access a file, folder, or disk, and what operations each user is permitted to perform. For instance, a folder’s permissions determine whether a particular user can view the folder’s contents (read only), add files to the folder but not view its contents (write only), or both (read and write).

AES 256 Encryption (Advanced Encryption Standard, 256 bit)

A specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. Nasuni uses this standard for their at-the-edge data encryption, ensuring the highest possible security.

Backup Applications

Applications used by businesses to automate and track the process of backing up data. A backup application or backup server can be used to protect data from client (end-user) machines or servers. The data that results from backup must be stored safely and moved off-site. Organizations typically deploy a combination of disk targets (Disk-to-Disk) for reliability and tape for offsite data protection.

Blocks

The 512-byte fundamental units of storage.

Block Based Storage

Blocks are raw chunks of storage on a drive. Blocks can support any application and are typically accessed through standard interfaces like Fiber Channel and iSCSI. You can do anything with blocks. Blocks make up the foundation underneath file systems. Some applications bypass the file system and go directly to blocks in order to gain a performance edge.

Blocks vs. Files

There are two ways storing data: the block-based approach, or the file-based approach. Blocks are the 512-byte fundamental units of storage they can be used for file storage, application storage, database storage, etc. File-based storage takes the blocks and makes them into something recognizable. For a more detailed explanation of blocks vs. files as they relate to cloud storage, see this article.

Cache

Temporary storage of data. Typically a cache is used to make a system feel fast to the end user and allow certain applications to run properly.

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A system of computers on the Internet that delivers content to end users.

Chunking

Files sent to the service from the Nasuni Filer are broken into smaller pieces (chunks) to improve the efficiency of the storage.

CIFS (Common Internet File System)

Operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an authenticated inter-process communication mechanism. Most usage of SMB involves computers running Microsoft Windows, where it was known as "Microsoft Windows Network" before the subsequent introduction of Active Directory. Corresponding Windows services have names "server" (for a server part) and "workstation" (for a client part).

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is an unlimited and reliable data repository built on the principle that data can be fully protected if it is held redundantly, with the copies being distributed widely among a network of servers. Servers can be replaced when necessary with no loss of data, and the system can be expanded infinitely without any service interruption. Cloud data centers are massive, providing an economy of scale and a level of reliability unattainable by traditional storage solutions. Some clouds hold data in multiple geographic locations as well, for protection against a natural disaster. There are private clouds, owned by enterprise companies, and public ones, which have recently become available to everyone. The new public clouds, while fully functional as repositories, do not yet offer many tools for businesses looking to make effective use of them, so many companies are springing up to serve those who are poised to benefit from the cloud but lack the tools to do so.

Cloud Storage/Service Provider (CSP)

A company that provides cloud-based services to organizations or end users. Examples include Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure.

D2D Backup (Disk-to-Disk Backup)

A system in which primary or tier 1 storage is copied to another fast, disk-based storage system instead of tape or other slower optical media. The advantages of Disk-to-Disk backup include shortened backup windows and faster, non-linear recovery.

Multi-site Access

Nasuni feature that allows connected Filer’s to make data available to other Filer’s. The remote volumes can be read/write, read-only, or a custom “per-Filer” configuration.

Data continuity

Ensuring data is uncompromised, protected, and available at all times.

Deduplication

The process of deleting duplicate or redundant information.

DR

Abbreviation for “Disaster Recovery”.

Fast restore

Nasuni term refers to the inherent ability of the Nasuni Filer to perform restores in record time.

Heuristics

Information about data stored within the Nasuni service. Includes file sizes, types, and logarithmic and algorithmic breakdown of each.

Microsoft Hyper-V

Microsoft’s hypervisor-based virtualization system for x86-32 and x86-64 systems. Nasuni Filer supports the Microsoft Hyper-V platform.

LV (Logical volume)

In computer storage, logical volume management or LVM provides a method of allocating space on mass-storage devices that is more flexible than conventional partitioning schemes. In particular, a volume manager can concatenate, stripe together or otherwise combine partitions into larger virtual ones that administrators can re-size or move, potentially without interrupting system use.

MBO

Management business objective.

Metadata

“Data about data.” Metadata is information about other information or information systems. An example of metadata can be found in a JPEG photo, beyond the actual photograph, other information including when the photo was taken, the model camera used to take the photo, shutter speed, f-stop, etc. are all stored as data within the file. Applications can use this data for cataloging, searching, and sorting based on specific attributes. As it relates to the Nasuni service, computer files contain metadata that describe the data contained within the file, folder, or directory. When recovering Nasuni from a disaster, the metadata is recovered first, allowing users to see all of their files and folders instantly.

NAS (Network Attached Storage)

A file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements. NAS is often made as a computer appliance - a specialized computer built from the ground up for storing and serving files - rather than simply a general purpose computer being used for the role.

NAS systems are networked appliances that contain one or more hard drives, often arranged into logical, redundant storage containers or RAID arrays. Network-attached storage removes the responsibility of file serving from other servers on the network. They typically provide access to files using network file sharing protocols such as NFS, SMB/CIFS, or AFP.

NAS vs. SAN

Network Attached Storage vs. Storage Area Network: In the past, there were major differences between these two networks. NAS was file storage only and usually only had one interface (Ethernet), SAN could be block storage, file storage, application data storage and could have a number of interfaces (iSCSI, Fibre Channel, Ethernet, etc.) In recent years, iSCSI has provided an operational a bridge between NAS and SAN and many NAS systems offer iSCSI (block) interfaces. There are, however, still be significant operational differences, especially for customers using Fiber Channel.

Nasuni Filer

Nasuni’s flagship product, a next-generation storage controller that brings cloud services into your data center. It offers access to unlimited storage capacity, file-level snapshots and multi-site access for enterprise customers.

NFS (Network File System)

A client and server protocol that uses Internet Protocol (IP) to allow remote users to access files as though they were local. NFS exports shared volumes to computers based on IP address, rather than user name and password.

OVF (Open Virtualization Format)

An open standard for packaging and distributing virtual appliance.

Pre-fetching

The capability to predict which files and data will need to reside in local cache before the data is requested by the user.

Private vs. public

Public vs. Private as it relates to cloud infrastructure refers to the physical location and owner of the cloud infrastructure. In the “private cloud” the hardware resides at the location of the end user. They will maintain all aspects of this hardware. The public cloud is maintained by a third-party. It is essentially leased on a per GB/TB basis. There are many benefits to the public cloud, but security and latency are major issues with data outside of your own four walls.

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks)

A technology that provides increased storage functions and reliability through redundancy. This is achieved by combining multiple disk drive components into a logical unit, where data is distributed across the drives in one of several ways called "RAID levels”.

RAIN (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Nodes)

With RAIN architecture, independent servers in the cloud make complete copies of your data. This data is protected because it is copied from machine to machine in the cloud and the servers check that each copy is perfect. If one of those servers fails, your data does not disappear. The others detect the loss and make additional copies through a process called regeneration. Because they are ideally suited for scale, reliability and high availability, all of the major Cloud Storage Providers have based their systems on the RAIN architecture.

Raw Capacity

Bare disk capacity as stated by the manufacturer.

Raw vs. Usable

The amount of storage available on a bare drive or storage system (no formatting/file system, etc.) vs. the amount of storage available for storing files.

Replication

Making an exact copy of a data set for increased durability and reliability.

ROI (Return on Investment)

The ratio of money gained or lost (whether realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss, or net income/loss. The money invested may be referred to as the asset, capital, principal, or the cost basis of the investment. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage.

RPO (Recovery Point Objective)

Describes the acceptable amount of data loss measured in time. A business could have an acceptable RPO of 4 hours, meaning if a disaster occurs they will tolerate 4 hours of lost productivity.

RTO (Recovery Time Objective)

The duration of time and a service level within which a business process must be restored after a disaster (or disruption) in order to avoid unacceptable consequences associated with a break in business continuity. A business could have a RTO of 48 hours, meaning if a disaster occurs they expect to be back up and running within a period of 48 hours.

SAN (Storage Area Network)

A dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices to the operating system. A SAN typically has its own network of storage devices that are generally not accessible through the local area network by other devices.

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)

A set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of other devices.

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

A part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. In practice, the term SLA is sometimes used to refer to the contracted delivery time (of the service) or performance. As an example, Internet service providers will commonly include service level agreements within the terms of their contracts with customers to define the level(s) of service being sold in plain language terms. In this case the SLA will typically have a technical definition in terms of mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair or mean time to recovery (MTTR); various data rates; throughput; jitter; or similar measurable details.

Snapshots

A point in time of the whole or a sub-set of the file system. The Nasuni Filer uses snapshots to apply de-duplication, compression and encryption to customer data before it is committed to the service. Snapshots can be used to restore files, directories or a whole file system. A single timeline for snapshots also enable multi-site access by preserving a consistent history of the data that can be available from multiple locations.

Snapshot Retention

Controlling the amount of time a snapshot will remain available. Nasuni uses Snapshot Retention to comply with formal retention policies, i.e. A law office must maintain copies of all case files for 90 days after the trial, after which they are required to destroy all the documents. Setting a retention policy of 90 days on that share would ensure proper compliance to their set policy by ensuring that any files deleted from the Nasuni Filer are permanently removed from the snapshot history after 90 days.

SSN (Storage Services Network)

A network offering a complete storage solution backed by a comprehensive service level agreement.

Storage array

A series of storage systems put together to accommodate the varying storage needs of an organization.

Tape

Magnetic media used for storing backups.

Thick provisioning

Allocating all of the space to be used by a virtual appliance or system up front or at the time of installation.

Thin provisioning

A mechanism that applies to large-scale centralized computer disk storage systems, SANs, and storage virtualization systems. Thin provisioning allows space to be easily allocated to servers, on a just-enough and just-in-time basis.

Tier 1

Primary tier of data storage. Commonly fast disk-based storage used for frequently accessed files, databases, and email servers.

Virtual appliance

A piece of software that runs in a virtual environment i.e. VMware ESXi, which takes on the characteristic of a physical appliance. Example: The Nasuni Filer appears just like a standard file server to end users, however on the back end it may exist on physical Nasuni hardware or as a virtual machine in an existing virtualized infrastructure.

VM (Virtual Machine)

A completely isolated guest operating system installation within your normal host operating system. Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization.