2 - Data Storage Fundamentals

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the organization and storage of information and data in storage networking. Data is defined into a usable format (data structures) that is understood by the application and written to and read from files or database objects. Data moves to and from applications by using various software application tools such as Web servers, transaction processing facilities, e-mail, and others. These tools access databases or filesystems that maintain data organization and synchronize access to data records and objects. Some databases bypass filesystems and volume managers to communicate directly with operating system I/O facilities and storage device driver software. In other instances, databases and applications access and organize data via filesystems and, optionally, volume managers, providing a layer of abstraction, also known as a form of storage virtualization. A volume manager is storage software that is used to organize, group, and manage storage devices. Not all data and information are the same in terms of frequency of access and retention, yet typically all data is treated the same. Information data is be stored in different formats on various types of media and use various interfaces to access it.