They respond by deploying high-end servers and building storage servers as shared resources. Centralized backup and data protection are consistently identified as one of the greatest benefits that comes from recentralization. To operate a mission-critical capable network requires moving from reactive management to proactive. Central administration of applications as well as of the network and all its systems is imperative. Failures must be detected before they happen and preventative measures taken in advance.
Storage is integral to the solution of providing minimal downtime and maximal productivity.
Strategic Research calls this attribute high data accessibility because it defines the role of storage in a network as high performance delivery of information, continuous access to information, and protection from data loss . All three characteristics are required to really build a mission critical capable network. To create a highly accessible network service requires implementation of multiple elements of the network storage architecture. At the top of the hierarchy is clustering or server mirroring. A typical mission critical system would incorporate clustering, RAID, and centralized backup with an off-site disaster recovery capability as well.