Five issues to consider in implementing cloud storage

More and more IT infrastructures are starting to choose cloud storage. However, because cloud storage is relatively new, the IT managers responsible for storage in most enterprises do not know what questions to ask potential service providers to determine the impact of cloud storage on the enterprise IT environment.

The following five questions should be raised when storage managers consider applying cloud storage:

1. Can applications or end users tolerate low storage performance?

Because the cloud stores its own architecture, you can expect a high latency in the case of access requirements for files or directories. So if your next project is to deploy SQL database services or mail services for a huge site, cloud storage may not be your best choice.

But if you are configuring a file server for a remote sales team, the "cloud" access time may be consistent with the wireless network or shared network they expect to use. The cloud can also provide data access services at any location that can be networked.

You should also consider the user experience: Do users expect local storage performance? Early communication is important, and you need to tell the user that moving the data to the cloud will affect the user's experience. If an end user has a local file server or central server in the data center and is accessible through a private wide area network, accessing the data from the cloud can be slow. Providing multiple Internet connections or a higher level of network services can reduce the pressure on peripheral storage requirements.

2. Can the statement of the storage provider or the hosting service be honoured?

Most cloud storage providers offer a service level agreement (SLA) of up to 99.99%. And some service providers, such as the most famous Nirvanix company, advertised a 100% service level agreement. However, in the context of these statements, it is important to understand what they guarantee.

Most cloud storage providers are hosting or hosting the data center, and still rely on the infrastructure of other vendors. If the hosting provider has connectivity issues, is it the responsibility of the "cloud" provider or the hosting service provider to meet the potential loss of access data?

3. Still data need to be encrypted?

All cloud storage providers encrypt data during the transfer process. However, if data is sensitive to the cloud, the security of the data must be addressed once the data is stored in the service provider's infrastructure. Several providers now support the encryption of static data, but you need to know whether the provider you are evaluating has this capability. In addition, if there are several data pools that need to be quarantined, the key to data encryption or landing may become a problem. Based on the manufacturer, in this environment, you may need to establish a separate user account for each individual user.

4. Does the cost of cloud storage based on user activity increase?

Most cloud storage providers charge according to the type of storage access requirements and the amount of space they use. This becomes important when you search for a large amount of file names or text within a file. For example, the cost of cloud storage may be significantly increased if a file is required to be indexed regularly or scanned for viruses.

E-discovery data warehouses, application data caches, and temporary file stores belong to other types of data stores and are not suitable for the cloud.

5. Can cloud storage providers put devices on the site?

For businesses that need fast access to recent files but have low early data access requirements, if you can place a cache device on your local network, the cloud may still be a storage option that will save data that is recently sent to the cloud and assume that the data will be accessed in the near future.