Data Storage

Unlock the value of your data capital and turn data into your most valuable asset with flash storage, cloud storage and data protection from Dell.

Data today is more diverse than ever and resides in more locations, thanks to next-generation technologies like the Internet of Things, mobile computing, hybrid/multicloud applications and cloud-native Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, in addition to traditional on-premises enterprise applications and databases. The challenges for managing enterprise data today include:

• Handling rapid growth. As data volumes grow, the cost and complexity of storing, managing and protecting data increases as well. Many businesses don’t currently have budgets to cover the infrastructure they need to manage their data adequately.
• Delivering fast performance. Technologies such as real-time analytics and machine learning algorithms need real-time access to data, requiring data storage solutions with minimal latency.
• Enabling easy access. Developers, security and forensics teams, compliance groups, IT operations and a wide variety of other users all need access to data quickly and easily, without requiring the intervention of IT staff.
• Determining data residency. With data distributed over a multitude of storage devices in diverse geographical locations, IT staff is often hard-pressed to know exactly where data resides.
• Ensuring compliance. Burgeoning volumes of data and data residency issues make it hard to determine whether data is in compliance with policies, regulations and laws.
• Protecting data assets. Because data is a highly valuable asset, it is constantly under attack and must be protected from loss, corruption and theft.
• Simplifying management. The challenges of managing data storage can easily overwhelm IT teams that are also juggling a wide number of other priorities. Solutions that simplify management and relieve administrative burden are essential.
• Containing costs. While the volume of data and the complexity of managing it continue to grow, IT budgets can rarely keep pace. IT teams need solutions that can help to reduce the cost of data storage media and automate management tasks.

The overarching challenge of enterprise data storage is to build systems that can support the entire data footprint and enable intelligent and efficient data management at any scale in order to deliver timely insights and business value.

Dell provides a portfolio of data storage technology for modern and legacy applications. Architected for a variety of data sets – including unstructured, semi-structured and structured data – Dell solutions provide a variety of I/O characteristics and service level agreements that enable IT teams to choose the optimal balance of performance, cost and flexibility.

The Dell enterprise data storage portfolio includes:

• PowerStore, a groundbreaking storage platform that eliminates traditional trade-offs in performance, scalability and storage efficiency, with data-centric, intelligent, and adaptable infrastructure. 

• Unity XT, a no-compromise midrange storage solution built from the ground up to deliver unified storage speed and efficiency for a multicloud world.
• PowerMax NVMe, the world’s fastest data storage array with high-speed smarts to power critical workloads.
• SC series, featuring all-flash and hybrid storage with a modern, automated architecture that proactively optimizes data centers for cost savings while delivering SSD, HDD or tiered performance.
• PowerVault ME4, providing block storage for entry-level SAN and DAS workloads.
• XtremIO X2, an all-flash array that dramatically improves operational efficiency, transforms application workflows with copy data management and reduces storage capacity requirements with inline data deduplication.
• Vmax All Flash, providing performance, scale, high-availability and advanced data services for all mission-critical applications.
• Isilon, the industry’s #1 family of scale-out, network-attached storage systems designed for demanding enterprise file workloads.
• ECS, an industry-leading object storage platform built to support traditional and next-generation workloads.

Dell’s Optimize for Storage service provides IT teams with ongoing guidance from a designated storage expert to make sure mission-critical systems are configured and operating at peak performance. Optimize for Storage delivers personalized guidance and actionable next steps that result in significantly less risk of data loss, downtime and business delays. A Dell storage expert orchestrates a host of tools and resources to analyze, evaluate and report on storage health through daily system monitoring, deep-dive configuration and performance evaluations, and annual strategic planning sessions.

What is data storage?

Data storage refers to the task of keeping or archiving digital data on different kinds of media for use by computers and other devices. 

What are the types of data storage media?

Main types of storage media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state disks (SSDs), optical storage and tape. HDDs read and write data to spinning discs coated in magnetic media. SSDs store data on nonvolatile flash memory chips and have no moving parts. Optical data storage uses lasers to store and retrieve data from optical media, typically a spinning optical disc. Tape storage records data on magnetic tape.

What are primary and secondary data storage?

Primary data storage is used to store data that is highly important and/or frequently accessed and requires faster responses. Secondary storage is used to archive less important or inactive data that must be kept for operational or historical purposes. 

What is all-flash vs. hybrid flash storage?

Flash storage is essentially synonymous with solid-state disks and provides some of the fastest response times in the storage industry. Because flash also tends to be more costly, companies may use a hybrid storage solution that combines fast flash storage with more economical forms (but less responsive) forms of storage media, storing data on one media or the other based on its value and criticality.

What is network-attached storage vs. object storage?

Network-attached storage is a data storage device that can be accessed by users via a local area network. Network storage is typically a file storage device, where data is stored hierarchically using files and folders much like paper is organized in a filing cabinet. Object storage is a data storage system where data is stored as objects in a flat structure, with attached metadata that describes it, and a unique identifier that allows it to be found among a highly distributed array of storage devices. 

What is tiered storage?

Tiered storage is an approach to data storage that balances cost and performance by using high-performance media for data that is frequently accessed, and less expensive media for data that does not need to be accessed as frequently or as quickly.