Network File Management
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- This article is about an information technology system. For the autosomal dominant genetic disorder NFM, see Neurofibromatosis
Network File Management (NFM) is a data storage management-related category that was identified and defined in 2004 by several prominent data storage analysts. The term is used interchangeably with NAS Virtualization and File Virtualization among data storage industry press, analysts and System Administrators.
The basic idea of NFM is that the rapid, ongoing growth of file data capacity on enterprise networks has led to massive management complexity and accelerating operating costs. NFM is the concept of creating a virtualization layer between the clients and the file servers (or NAS devices) on the network. By creating this abstraction layer, System Administrators may simplify the management of the tens, hundreds or even thousands of devices and Terabytes of storage resources on their networks. NFM enables the non-disruptive movement of data between servers, preserving the client access path (pathname), policies for automating the placement of data according to its changing needs, and the ability to discover, analyze and report on server and file usage.
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[edit] Standards
NFM, NAS Virtualizataion and File Virtualization interacts with heterogeneous servers using the Common Internet File System protocol (CIFS) and the Network File System (NFS) protocols. These are standard protocols used by all servers, NAS devices and client systems for handling file data.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Taneja Group category definition: "Network file management solves NAS problems"
- Enterprise Storage Group category definition: "NAS virtualization simplifies file management"
- NFM Vendors: Acopia, Attune Systems, Neopath, Njini
