Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2017 in Storage, Storage Hardware
In the age of big data, every scrap of information potentially holds some value. As part of their efforts to unlock these hidden nuggets, many businesses are reluctant to dispose of anything.
For organisations handling huge data objects, like video, storage is a massive concern. After all, modern CCTV systems can be used for big data analytics processes too, looking for trends in site activity that will identify efficiency savings, or even criminal activity.
Doing storage wrong
A recent article in the Maritime Journal suggests that organisations reliant on CCTV to assist with operations (like ports) may be making major mistakes when dealing with storage. They believe that businesses are storing as much as 40 percent of their data in the wrong place.
Rather than deploying tiered storage that saves high priority data to the best performing arrays, these businesses are instead using a vanilla operating environment. This means that everything is written to high performance, high cost storage.
A costly mistake
Storing everything on high performing equipment may sound attractive, particularly for big data purposes, but the reality is that this approach is costly overkill. Ageing, low value data may be necessary for compliance purposes, but it adds nothing to your analytics program – and it will probably never be accessed.
Using tiered storage means that this low-value data is written to low cost arrays – it’s available if you ever need it, without consuming space on high-cost, front-line storage. Importantly, tiered storage allows the CTO to reduce operating costs – and potentially squeeze additional ROI from existing assets too.
Lower-priority data can be accommodated quite comfortably on lower priority hardware for instance, allowing redeployment of post-warranty hardware. Similarly, CTOs could “max out” existing arrays, filling empty shelves with disks, rather than budgeting for a complete replacement at upgrade.
Containing costs today
For the maritime industry, tiered storage offers a way to meet the challenges of demand for increased capacity and cost control – without affecting the performance of their big data programs.
Next steps
To learn more about how to make better use of your storage assets, please get in touch.
– See more at: http://www.cds.net/blog/2017/03/is-your-data-in-the-wrong-place/#sthash.qnSYFmS0.dpuf