It is likely that recently more than one of you have ever heard the term DAS. It is something that we hear more and more frequently, and that is gaining presence in many blogs. Therefore, it is good to know what this term means and what it means in this case. While there may already be some users who have a certain idea, but want to know more.
Next we tell you what a DAS is, what does this term mean. We also mention what are the main characteristics that we find in one. So it is clear what we can expect from one. Which can certainly be of help to many of you.
What is a DAS
DAS has become a popular term, which arises from standardizing the terminology we use when classifying different storage architectures used in computing. In this case, DAS is the acronym for Direct Attached Storage, which if we translate it into Spanish we can define it as direct connection storage. It is the best way to define these types of products.
We find a number of devices within this category. We can include some like hard drives, optical disc drives (CD, DVD, BD), USB sticks, solid state disk drives, as well as old systems that are no longer used today, such as floppy drives, for example. So it's a pretty broad category, which includes a lot of products.
Although the normal thing is that if we talk about DAS, we are referring above all to a couple of these options, which are HDD and SSD. Although the industry has also evolved and the term has been expanding or having different uses. Since today we can see how many companies use this term to define an enclosure, which has the capacity to house several SSD or HDD units. It is something that we are seeing more and more in the market today.
Characteristics of the DAS
Once we have a more precise idea of what this term means, there are a number of things we can expect from a DAS. Rather, a series of characteristics that these products usually present in general, which are what help us to identify them in this category of products. There are a number of them that we must bear in mind, because they are the most important in this regard. Surely most of them sound familiar to you, because they are the ones that define very well everything that a DAS is today, as it is understood:
- They allow quick access to all the information that is saved or stored
- They allow a connection in box or in an external way (through the USB port, or in the disc reader)
- They have a direct connection to the server or workstation, through a host bus adapter (HBA)
- There is no network hardware between the device and the computer
- Supports partitions or formatting
- They are compatible with bus interfaces. SATA, eSATA, SAS or SCSI computers are the most common, but also with others such as ATA, PATA or IEEE 1394, among many others.
DAS have a number of important advantages. One of the most important is the price, since they are relatively accessible, so that most users can have access to one, in its various versions. In addition, since there are many types, it is easier to find one that fits each particular case, which is always important.
In addition, they are stable and protect the information we store in them. Its price is low, but also maintenance costs for users are really low, not to say almost zero, which undoubtedly makes them a good option to consider in this regard. So DAS are something that has many advantages.