The rise of big data led HSM back to life

HSM Hierarchical Storage Management abbreviation, meaning "hierarchical storage management", refers to the data in the storage device to automatically migrate between the process. Hierarchical storage management can be stored at a lower cost, providing cost-effective storage services. But reduces the access performance.

Even before there were vendors claiming that tiered storage management was dead. The reason is that HSM reduces overall storage performance, and today's mechanical hard disks and hard disk density solve all of today's storage problems.

However, with the advent of the Big Data era in recent years, more data needs us to store and countless EB data storage costs have begun to take notice of the high cost of storage devices. So HSM usher in a comeback?

I think the answer is yes, the reason is simple. In the future, we need to find more information value. Data is not value. Only useful information can generate value. This gives HSM new opportunities.

Just as long ago, DNA between chromosomes was called junk DNA, but now it is a completely erroneous description that is very much related to disease and DNA replication. Similarly, our data is like this thing, although there is a lot of existence, but there will be different user needs.

Data must be saved for future generations because we do not know when these data can become value information any day, whether they are traces of earthquakes, data on oil, DNA, climate, etc., all of which need to be well preserved.

Nowadays, HSM is the way to separate the original information and maximize the cost performance of our data storage. We need to be familiar with HSM function for a long time because he may be a long-term technology that requires our attention.