Multi Tier Storage Architecture (Tiered Storage / HSM)
An analysis of a data object in a storage system is likely to reveal that initially it is accessed and updated very frequently. When the data object is growing older, its access frequency decreases to a level which is almost negligible. At the same time as data is less frequently used the corresponding data volume is growing. This leads to the requirement that during its lifetime data should be moved to different physical storage locations because it would be too expensive and would not make sense to store all data on high performance storage systems (e.g. SAS RAID or SSD).
PoINT Storage Manager supports Multi Tier Storage Architecture and migrates data to an appropriate storage tier depending on its status. A tiered storage concept combines the advantages of different storage technologies (hard disk, tape and optical) into an optimal storage mix.
There are 3 different Tiers:
- Tier 1 = Performance Tier (storage with highest performance like NetApp FAS Systems)
- Tier 2 = Capacity Tier (cost-optimized storage systems like SATA RAID)
This tier is typically used to migrate data from Tier 1 which becomes less active. - Tier 3 = Archive Tier (implements the storage layer for long‐term archiving, e.g. realized by optical or tape Data stored in this tier is controlled by retention management and can only be altered or deleted under specific conditions, e.g. not before the corresponding retention period has elapsed.
