How do you choose the optimal storage tier for your data?

1 What is storage tiering?

Storage tiering is the process of assigning different categories of data to different levels of storage based on their characteristics and requirements. For example, you may have a tier 0 for ultra-fast SSDs, a tier 1 for high-performance HDDs, a tier 2 for mid-range HDDs, and a tier 3 for archival or cloud storage. Each tier has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, performance, capacity, reliability, and scalability.

2 Why is storage tiering important?

Storage tiering can help you optimize your storage resources and reduce your operational costs. By storing your data on the most appropriate tier, you can improve your application performance, ensure your data availability and security, and avoid wasting space and money on overprovisioning or underutilizing your storage. Storage tiering can also help you meet your compliance and governance obligations by ensuring that your data is stored according to its retention and protection policies.

3 How do you classify your data?

When selecting the optimal storage tier for your data, the first step is to classify your data according to its value, usage, and lifecycle. You need to assess how often the data is accessed, how critical it is for your business, how long it needs to be retained, and how sensitive it is. For instance, if you have data that is frequently accessed, high-value, short-lived, and confidential, it requires the highest tier of storage with the best performance, availability, and security. Data that is occasionally accessed, moderate-value, medium-lived, and sensitive needs a mid-tier of storage with good performance, availability, and security. Lastly, data that is rarely accessed, low-value, long-lived, and non-sensitive requires the lowest tier of storage with the lowest cost, availability, and security.

4 How do you implement storage tiering?

Once you have classified your data, you need to implement storage tiering according to your business needs and budget. Manual storage tiering allows for more control and flexibility, but it can be time-consuming and error-prone. Automated storage tiering, on the other hand, saves time and effort, but it can be complex and expensive to set up and maintain. A hybrid approach of manual and automated storage tiering can be the best of both worlds, however, it can also introduce some challenges and trade-offs.

6 What are the benefits of storage tiering?

Storage tiering can bring many benefits to your enterprise IT infrastructure, such as improved performance, reduced costs, increased scalability, and enhanced security. By storing data on the most suitable tier, latency can be reduced, throughput can be increased, and user experience can be improved. Moreover, capital and operational expenses can be lowered and return on investment can be optimized. Additionally, scalability is increased to accommodate data growth and demand without compromising performance or availability. Furthermore, data is protected from unauthorized access, theft, or damage by storing it on the most secure tier.