At present, our network has officially entered a brand-new stage of diversification, high intelligence and intelligence. Along with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, edge computing and big data, enterprises have put forward higher requirements for storage systems. In this article, we mainly
First oF all, the widespread use of NVMe over Fabrics (NVME-OF) technology has significantly improved the performance of storage systems. This technology extends the NVMe protocol to the network through high-speed network protocols such as RDMA and TCP, achieving low-latency and high-throughput data transmission. Compared with the traditional SATA and SAS interfaces, NVMe-oF offers higher bandwidth and lower latency, and is suitable for application scenarios with extremely high performance requirements, such as high-performance computing and real-time data analysis.
Secondly, the development of software-defined storage (SDS) technology has made the management of storage resources more flexible and efficient. SDS realizes the virtualization and unified management of storage resources by abstracting the storage function from the hardware. This architecture supports multiple storage protocols and devices, facilitating enterprises to flexibly configure and expand according to their actual needs. In addition, SDS also supports automated policy management, such as data deduplication, snapshots and backups, which enhances the availability and reliability of the storage system.
In terms of storage media, the maturity of 3D NAND technology has promoted the increase in the capacity of solid-state drives (SSDS) and the reduction of costs. By vertically stacking storage units, 3D NAND achieves a higher storage density, making SSDS superior to traditional hard disks in both capacity and performance. Furthermore, the emergence of new storage devices such as E2 SSD has further expanded the application scope of SSD and met the demand for high-capacity and high-performance storage.
In terms of long-term data storage, new medium technologies such as 5D optical storage and ceramic storage are gradually being applied. 5D optical storage uses ultrafast lasers to write data into quartz glass, featuring high density and extremely long lifespan, making it suitable for data that needs to be preserved for a long time. Ceramic storage provides a highly stable and durable storage solution by writing data on ceramic materials, making it suitable for scenarios such as archive preservation and disaster recovery.
The rise of edge computing has also raised new requirements for network storage. In the edge computing architecture, data is processed and stored at edge nodes close to the data source, reducing the delay and bandwidth pressure of data transmission. This requires the storage system to have a distributed architecture and high availability to support the real-time data processing and storage requirements of edge nodes.
Furthermore, the application of artificial intelligence technology is changing the way storage systems are managed. By introducing AI algorithms, the storage system can achieve intelligent resource scheduling, fault prediction and performance optimization, improving the degree of automation and operational efficiency of the system.
The traditional storage architecture has been continuously optimized. DAS (Direct Connected Storage) is still suitable for small enterprises or single-server scenarios due to its low cost and easy deployment, but it is limited by poor scalability and the risk of single point of failure. NAS (Network Attached Storage) supports multi-device access through file-level sharing. The new generation of products adopts dual 2.5G network ports and SSD cache technology, significantly enhancing transmission efficiency and making it suitable for both households and small and medium-sized enterprises. SAN (Storage Area Network) offers fiber channel-level block storage performance, but it is costly and is mostly used in low-latency demand scenarios such as finance and healthcare. iSCSI simulates SAN through IP networks, reducing deployment costs and requiring a balance between network load and CPU overhead.
Emerging storage technologies break through performance boundaries. In non-volatile memory, the Intel Optane persistent memory module provides 512GB-level high-speed storage through DIMM slots and is suitable for real-time data analysis. MRAM, with its low power consumption and fast wake-up features, has become an ideal choice for edge computing and Internet of Things (iot) devices. ReRAM builds a bridge between DRAM and SSD in data centers, while phase-change memory optimizes write performance through high durability and low power consumption, gradually replacing some NAND flash memory. Flash memory technology continues to upgrade. The 8th generation BiCSFLASH™ QLC increases storage density by 2.3 times, improves write efficiency by 70%, supports 4TB capacity on a single chip, and drives enterprise-level SSDS to evolve towards higher capacity. The popularization of the PCIe 5.0/6.0 specification and the EDSFF form has further unleashed the performance potential of NVMe and met the throughput requirements of scenarios such as AI training.
The selection of technology needs to balance performance, cost and ecology. Families and small and medium-sized enterprises can choose hybrid storage devices to balance capacity and cost performance. Medium and large-sized enterprises need solutions such as Synology DS925+ that support link aggregation and snapshot backtracking to ensure data security. Energy consumption has become a key indicator. The replacement of traditional hard disks with all-flash memory can reduce the energy consumption of data centers. Intelligent management relies on AI to achieve automated data allocation and fault prediction, and open-source tools (such as Docker) enhance the flexibility of ecosystem integration.
The boundary between storage and computing will be further blurred in the future. The combination of Optane persistent memory and traditional SAN builds a high-throughput and low-latency storage pool to support real-time AI analysis. The integration of CXL protocol and phase-change memory technology explores new types of memory with lower power consumption and higher bit density.
In terms of data security, the storage system is strengthening the protection measures for data. The application of technologies such as data encryption, access control and multi-replica backup ensures the security and integrity of data during storage and transmission.
Finally, the adoption of a hybrid cloud storage architecture enables enterprises to flexibly migrate and manage data between local storage and cloud storage based on business needs. This architecture combines the high performance of local storage with the high scalability of cloud storage, providing enterprises with more flexible and efficient storage solutions.
To sum up, the network storage technology in 2025 will show a development trend of high performance, intelligence and diversification. When enterprises choose and deploy storage systems, they should, based on their own business needs and development plans, seize technological changes, and comprehensively consider factors such as performance, capacity, reliability and security to build storage solutions suitable for themselves and provide more underlying support for the global data flood.
