Storage Tip: Video storage requires different treatment

What seems to be the problem: Originally, IT formed around transaction processing
systems that use structured data (i.e., data that can be sorted) that typically
today involve database management systems. More recently, IT has learned how
to manage semi-structured (i.e., searchable, but not able to be sorted) data,
such as e-mail, word processing documents, and presentations. Although some
organizations have had to deal with true unstructured data (which natively are
not searchable or able to be sorted) for some time, only now is that usage increasing
dramatically. Now unstructured data may simply be photos or it could be specialized
information for a specific industry, such as medical images, but now more dynamic
information, such as video is also becoming more prominent. And with the rise
of the internet to reach customers, more and more businesses are seeking to
reach potential or actual customers using internet video in one form or another.
Can you manage internet video and rich media using your general purpose storage
systems?

What do you need to know? If you can use standard storage systems for internet
video requirements that are always relatively low relative to the capabilities
of the storage system, the answer is yes, but if you have either a high average
demand for internet video or you have a peak load demand that dramatically spikes
demand at times, then general purpose NAS and SAN systems are not designed to
meet the workload. Let's see why.

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