Main Definition
Network-Attached Storage (NAS) is a dedicated file storage system connected to a network, allowing multiple users and applications to access shared data through standard file protocols like NFS and SMB. Where direct-attached storage is physically tethered to a single machine, NAS uses network protocols NFS (common in Linux/Unix environments) and SMB/CIFS (common in Windows) so that many clients can reach the same files at once. Most NAS systems include multiple drives arranged for redundancy, so data stays available even when a disk fails.
NAS systems are foundational to most enterprise and research computing environments because they centralize storage management, data protection, and access control. For technology leaders, NAS represents both an operational asset and a growing cost center: as data volumes climb into the petabyte range, NAS capacity, performance, and vendor lock-in become strategic concerns. Additionally, tracking how many copies of files exist and where they are becomes harder as a NAS system grows.
For this reason, modern data management strategies increasingly layer intelligence on top of NAS environments, using analytics and automation to identify inactive data, enforce policy, and move data to more cost-effective tiers without disrupting users or workflows.
Starfish offers a metadata-driven catalog to help you track and understand your data across your NAS storage, giving you a complete picture that lets you implement lifecycle management policies, reduce duplication, identify orphaned data, and much more, all without getting in the way of the data path and interfering with any network data sharing.
Related Links
- What is NAS | NetApp
- Starfish Works with Leading HPC, NAS and Object Storage Vendors | Starfish Storage
- Starfish Storage FAQ | Glossary
- 21 Surprising Things You Can Do with Starfish Storage | Blog
