Storage Technologies and Their Protocols: Building the Foundation of Modern Data Infrastructure (Published)
This article examines the evolving landscape of enterprise storage technologies and protocols that form the backbone of modern data infrastructure. With global data expected to grow to hundreds of zettabytes in the near future—a massive increase in just a decade—storage architecture has transformed from a back-office concern into a strategic business imperative. Organizations face not only exponential data growth but increasingly demanding performance requirements, with financial trading platforms now requiring response times measured in microseconds rather than milliseconds to maintain a competitive advantage. The article explores two fundamental storage architectures—Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN)—and analyzes their distinct methodologies, use cases, and implementation considerations. It delves into the protocols that enable communication between servers and storage devices, including SCSI, Fibre Channel Protocol, iSCSI, NFS, and SMB/CIFS, highlighting how each addresses specific requirements for reliability, performance, and compatibility. The article further investigates multipathing as a critical high-availability technique that minimizes single points of failure through redundant physical connections, providing both enhanced reliability and performance benefits. Finally, it explores emerging technologies reshaping the storage landscape, including NVMe, NVMe over Fabrics, and object storage, which are driving significant shifts in how organizations architect their data infrastructure to meet future demands across hybrid environments.
Keywords: enterprise storage architecture, network attached storage, non-volatile memory express, storage area networks, storage protocols