Why Are NAS Makers Using More SSDs?

Leading NAS makers like Synology and QNAP reveal what’s driving the increase in systems preconfigured with SSDs

Seagate is constantly monitoring trends in the NAS marketplace, and we’re now seeing a significant upswing in NAS solution deployment by small and medium businesses (SMBs). This increased usage is being driven by a fundamental benefit that NAS provides — enterprise storage features at SMB-friendly prices.

Working closely to align our goals with leading NAS vendors, Seagate is focused on the growing demand from business customers for higher performance. Key to meeting this demand for increased storage performance is broader use of SSDs.

According to Synology, roughly 20% of their NAS boxes now utilize SSDs. QNAP SSD usage in their NAS products is similarly high at almost 30%, with 20% for business customers and 10% for consumers.

A central factor behind this growing SSD usage is the synergy between SSD and faster Ethernet connectivity: As 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) hardware becomes more affordable and new 25GbE technology becomes more available, business NAS customers are able to fully utilize their network in demanding multi-user environments with heavy workloads.

As you may have read, it’s official, the new IronWolf 110 SSD is coming CYQ2 (calendar year, second quarter) — the world’s first purpose-built NAS SSD.

Why NAS is needed to give SMBs room to grow

Our digital universe is doubling in size every two years. By 2020, digital bits will rival the number of stars in the universe. This makes it essential for data to be captured, analyzed, and archived — anytime and anywhere.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) is the ideal solution for SMBs that want to stay ahead of upcoming data storage challenges. NAS is a server-based storage system that enables file sharing among multiple users. It is an independent network device with its own IP address, and includes applications such as backup and recovery, virtualization, cloud storage, disaster recovery, and multimedia.

What’s the best part, if you run IT for an SMB? NAS solutions can easily scale as data increases.

And if you’re a system builder or channel reseller serving those SMBs, with global demand for NAS devices expected to increase nearly 50% annually in the near-term, the forward-looking features of Seagate’s IronWolf NAS drive portfolio make it the superior choice for your customers.

As QNAP general manager Meiji Chang put it, “QNAP has collaborated with Seagate for many years on product and technology enhancements, working with them to create the best hard drives for NAS users. We believe that Seagate’s new IronWolf family provides the performance, reliability, and capacity needed to dependably store the vast data generated by virtualization, high-resolution media workflows, the Internet of Things, and other applications driven by modern QNAP NAS solutions.”

Do you need SSDs for your NAS? The right drive for the right application

All drives may look fairly similar, but don’t be fooled. Installing drives designed for desktop PCs instead of NAS-optimized hard drives and SSDs has some striking disadvantages that can be detrimental to business data, which negates any short-term cost savings.

While you’re planning your next NAS deployment and system upgrade, be sure to download the new IronWolf Family Guide which has been updated to include IronWolf 110 SSD.

Whether you’re supporting the IT needs of your own SMB, or you’re a system builder or reseller helping SMBs choose the right tools — it’s critical to assess your NAS needs. Start by asking the following questions:

Will drives be installed into a tower or rackmount enclosure?

How many users will be writing data to the drive?

How much data needs to be stored today?

How much is data expected to grow?

Then download the new IronWolf Family Guide.

Seagate’s product guides for our specialized internal client drives like IronWolf — as well as online training, brand materials, marketing kits, sales cards and more — are provided to the channel resellers and system integrators who are part of the Seagate Insider program. Program members receive regular product and industry updates in our monthly newsletter, access to a comprehensive resource portal, and access to the partner support team. Start reaping the rewards of membership — register today at seagate.com/partners.