Network Direct Attached Storage (NDAS) is a proprietary digital storage technology that utilizes a Lean Packet Exchange (LPX) protocol to connect external digital storage devices to a network via Ethernet or USB. Unlike Network-Attached Storage (NAS), the LPX-based Network Direct-Attached Storage isn t routable, so the storage hardware can’t be directly accessed via the Internet.
Originally developed by Ximeta in 2003 (and later marketed by IOCELL, which acquired Ximeta’s NDAS technology in 2011), Network Direct-Attached Storage is also different than Network-Attached Storage in that each client requires a software driver in order to access the NDAS storage hardware. The software driver enables any client on the network to directly control, use and share the NDAS device or devices.
Recommended Reading: What Is Enterprise Storage?
Advantages of Network Direct-Attached Storage
The purported advantages of Network Direct-Attached Storage are better performance, lower overhead (no operating system is needed in the device itself), enhanced security and simplified installation and ease of use. A variety of external digital storage devices can be used in Network Direct-Attached Storage form, including hard drives, optical drives, tape drive, flash drives and more.
NDAS vs. DAS, SAN and NAS
Network Direct-Attached Storage stands in contrast to Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) in that the latter refers to storage hardware that cannot be directly connected to a network, but they share the inability to be accessed via the internet. Network-Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SANs), on the other hand, are more closely related to NDAS in that they both provide access to storage hardware on the network.
The primary difference between Network-Attached Storage and Storage Area Networks is that whereas NAS offers file-level storage reading, SANs are networks composed of storage devices that facilitate block-level storage. NDAS offers both file-level and block-level storage capabilities.
