Cloud Storage-Concept

The concept of cloud storage (cloud storage), once proposed, has been supported and concerned by many vendors. Amazon's elastic Compute Cloud (EC2: Resilient computing Cloud) cloud storage product, launched two years ago, is designed to provide users with more powerful storage and computing capabilities in the form of Internet services. Content distribution Network service provider CDNetworks and the industry's renowned cloud storage platform service provider Nirvanix released a new partnership and announced a strategic partnership to provide the industry's only current cloud storage and content delivery service integration platform. Six months ago, Microsoft had launched the Windows Live SkyDrive Beta test version of the network mobile hard drive service. In the near future, EMC has announced the inclusion of a trusted infrastructure project, dedicated to global research collaboration on trust and reliability assurance in the cloud computing environment, and IBM has also taken cloud computing as part of its 300 million dollar expansion plan for global backup centers.

Cloud storage becomes more and more hot, we talk about "cloud", and each has its own argument, each has its own views, so what is the cloud storage?

Cloud storage is a new concept that extends and develops in the concept of cloud computing (cloud computing). Cloud computing is the development of distributed processing (distributed Computing), parallel processing (Parallel Computing) and Grid computing (grids Computing), which automatically splits large computational handlers into countless smaller subroutines through the network, A large system of multiple servers is calculated and analyzed to pass the processing results back to the user. With cloud computing technology, Web service providers can handle tens of millions of billions of dollars of information in a matter of seconds to achieve the same powerful network services as supercomputers.

Cloud storage concept is similar to cloud computing, it refers to the network through the cluster application, grid technology, or Distributed file system functions, a large number of different types of storage devices in networks through the application software together to work together to provide data storage and business access functions of a system.

If this explanation is still difficult to understand, we can use the structure of WAN and internet to explain cloud storage.

Cloud-like network structure

I believe you have a good understanding of LAN, WAN and Internet. In the common LAN system, we in order to better use the local area network, generally speaking, users need to know very clearly the network of each hardware and software model and configuration, such as what type of switch, how many ports, the use of what routers and firewalls, respectively, how to set. How many servers are in the system, and what operating systems and software are installed separately. What type of connection cables are used between the devices, and what XML:LANG=IP addresses and subnet masks are assigned.

But when we use the wide area network and the Internet, we just need to know what access network and username, password can connect to the WAN and the Internet, do not need to know how many switches, routers, firewalls and servers in the WAN and Internet, do not need to know the data is through what route to our computer , you don't need to know what software is installed on your network, and you don't need to know what connection cables and ports are used between the devices in your network.

Wide area networks and the Internet are completely transparent to specific users, and we often use a cloud-like graph to represent WANs and the Internet.

Although cloud-shaped graphics contain a large number of switches, routers, firewalls, and servers, these are not needed for specific WAN and internet users. This cloud-like graphics represents the wide area network and the Internet to bring you the interconnection of Internet services, no matter where we can through a network access cable and a user, password, you can access the WAN and the Internet, enjoy the network to bring our services.

Reference cloud network structure, create a new cloud-like structure of the storage system, the storage system consists of a number of storage devices, through the cluster function, distributed file system or similar grid computing functions together to work together, and through a certain application software or application interface, Provide a certain type of storage service and access service to the user.

When we use a separate storage device, we have to be very clear about what type of storage device, what interfaces and transport protocols you have, how many disks there are in the storage system, what type, what size, and what kind of connection cable to use between the storage device and the server. In order to ensure data security and business continuity, we also need to establish corresponding data backup system and disaster tolerance system. In addition, regular state monitoring, maintenance, software and hardware updates and upgrades are necessary for storage devices.

If you are using cloud storage, everything mentioned above will not be needed for users. All devices in a cloud-like storage system are completely transparent to the user, and any authorized user anywhere can access the cloud storage via a single access cable to the cloud storage.

Cloud storage is not storage, but service

Like a cloud wide area network and the Internet, cloud storage does not refer to a specific device, but to a collection of many storage devices and servers. Using cloud storage, the consumer does not use a single storage device, but rather a data access service that comes with the entire cloud storage system. So strictly speaking, cloud storage is not storage, but a service.

The core of cloud storage is the combination of application software and storage device to realize the transformation of storage device to storage service through application software.

Cloud Storage-the relationship with cloud computing

Cloud computing is the development of distributed processing (distributed Computing), parallel processing (Parallel Computing) and Grid computing (grids Computing), which automatically splits large computational handlers into countless smaller subroutines through the network, A large system of multiple servers is calculated and analyzed to pass the processing results back to the user. With cloud computing technology, Web service providers can handle tens of millions of billions of dollars of information in a matter of seconds to achieve the same powerful network services as supercomputers. The following figure:

The goal of the cloud computing system is to run on the PC, or stand-alone, personalized operations on a single server migrate to a large number of server "Clouds", which is responsible for processing the user's request and outputting the results, which is a system centered on data operation and processing.

Cloud storage is a new concept that extends and develops in the concept of cloud computing (cloud computing), which means that a large number of different types of storage devices in the network can be assembled together through application software through the functions of cluster application, grid technology or Distributed File system, A system that provides data storage and business access functions together externally. When the core of cloud computing system operation and processing is large amount of data storage and management, cloud computing system needs to configure a large number of storage devices, then cloud computing system is transformed into a cloud storage system, so cloud storage is a data storage and management as the core cloud computing system.

Compared to cloud computing systems, cloud storage can be considered a cloud computing system configured with large storage space.

From the architecture model, the cloud storage System system has one more storage layer than the cloud computing system, and there are many functions related to data management and data security in the basic management, which are identical in both the access layer and the application interface layer.

Cloud Storage-Technical prerequisites

From the cloud storage structure model, the cloud storage System is a collection of multi device, multi application and multi service collaborative work, and its realization should be based on the development of many technologies.

The development of broadband network

The real cloud storage system will be a multiple-region distribution, across the country, and even around the world's vast public systems, users need to connect to the cloud via ADSL, DDN, and other broadband access devices, rather than via FC, SCSI, or Ethernet cables directly connected to a stand-alone, private storage device. Only if the broadband network is fully developed, users will be able to obtain large enough data transmission bandwidth, to achieve a large number of capacity to transmit information, really enjoy the cloud storage services, otherwise it can only be empty talk.

Ii. WEB2.0 Technology

The core of Web2.0 technology is sharing. Only through web2.0 technology, the users of cloud storage can realize the centralized storage and data sharing of data, documents, pictures and audio and video through PCs, mobile phones, mobile multimedia and other devices. The development of Web2.0 technology enables users to be more flexible and versatile in their applications and services.

III. Application Storage Development

Cloud storage is not just storage, it is more applications. Application storage is a storage device that integrates the function of application software, which not only has the function of data storage, but also has the function of application software, which can be regarded as a collection of servers and storage devices. The development of application storage technology can reduce the number of servers in cloud storage, reduce the cost of system construction, reduce the single point fault and performance bottleneck in the system, reduce the data transmission link, provide system performance and efficiency, and ensure the efficient and stable operation of the whole system.

Iv. cluster technology, grid technology and Distributed File system

The cloud storage System is a collection of multiple storage devices, multiple applications, and multiple services, and any single point of storage system is not cloud storage.

Since it is composed of multiple storage devices, among different storage devices, it is necessary to realize the cooperative work among multiple storage devices through cluster technology, distributed File system and grid computing, so that multiple storage devices can provide the same service and provide greater and stronger data access performance. Without the existence of these technologies, cloud storage could not be truly implemented, and the so-called cloud storage could only be a single system, not a cloud-like structure.

CDN Content Distribution, Peer-to-peer technology, data compression technology, duplicate data deletion technology, data encryption technology

CDN Content distribution System, data encryption technology to ensure that the data in the cloud storage will not be accessed by unauthorized users, at the same time, through a variety of data backup and disaster-tolerant technology to ensure that the data in the cloud storage is not lost, to ensure the security and stability of the cloud storage. If the data security in the cloud storage is not guaranteed, and no one dares to use cloud storage, otherwise, the saved data is not quickly lost, is the whole country know.

Vi. Storage Virtualization Technology, storage networked management technology

The number of storage devices in cloud storage is large and distributed across many different geographies, how to implement logical volume management, storage virtualization management, and Multilink redundancy management between multiple devices of different vendors, different models, and even different types, such as FC storage and IP storage, will be a huge problem, Storage devices can be the performance bottleneck of the entire cloud storage system, the structure can not form a whole, but also bring late capacity and performance expansion difficult issues.

Another problem with the large number of storage devices in the cloud storage and the widespread geographical distribution is the problem of storage device operation management. Although these problems for the users of cloud storage do not need to care, but for the operation of cloud storage units, but must be through practical and effective means to solve the problem of centralized management, state monitoring is difficult, trouble maintenance, human cost high. Therefore, cloud storage must have an efficient and similar centralized management platform like network management software to achieve centralized management and state monitoring of storage devices, servers, and network devices in a cloud storage system.

Resources：

China Cloud Computing: http://www.chinacloud.cn

China cloud Computing Cloud storage column: http://www.chinacloud.cn/list.aspx?cid=30