Memory is a finite resource when it comes to both humans and computers—it’s one of the most common causes of computer issues. And if you’ve ever left the house without your keys, you know memory is one of the most common human problems, too.

If you’re unclear about the different types of memory in your computer, it makes pinpointing the cause of computer problems that much harder. You might hear folks use the terms memory and storage interchangeably, but there are some important differences. Understanding how both components work can help you understand what kind of computer you need, diagnose problems you’re having, and know when it’s time to consider upgrades. 

The Difference Between RAM and Storage

Random access memory (RAM) and storage are both forms of computer memory, but they serve different functions. 

What Is RAM?

RAM is volatile memory used by the computer’s processor to store and quickly access data that is actively being used or processed. Volatile memory maintains data only while the device is powered on. RAM takes the form of computer chips—integrated circuits—that are either soldered directly onto the main logic board of your computer or installed in memory modules that go in sockets on your computer’s logic board.

You can think of it like a desk—it’s where your computer gets work done. When you double-click on an app, open a document, or do much of anything, part of your “desk” is covered and can’t be used by anything else. As you open more files, it is like covering your desk with more and more items. Using a desk with a handful of files is easy, but a desk that is covered with a bunch of stuff gets difficult to use.

What Is Computer Storage?

On the other hand, storage is used for long-term data retention, like a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD). Compared with RAM, this type of storage is non-volatile, which means it retains information even when a device is powered off. You can think of storage like a filing cabinet—a place next to your desk where you can retrieve information as needed. 

RAM vs. Storage: How Do They Compare?

Speed and Performance

Two of the primary differences between RAM and storage are speed and performance. RAM is significantly faster than storage. Data stored in RAM can be written and accessed almost instantly, so it’s very fast—milliseconds fast. DDR4 RAM, one of the newer types of RAM technology, is capable of a peak transfer rate of 25.6GB/s! RAM has a very fast path to the computer’s central processing unit (CPU), the brain of the computer that does most of the work. 

Storage, as it’s slower in comparison, is responsible for holding the operating system (OS), applications, and user data for the long term—it should still be fast, but it doesn’t need to be as fast as RAM.

That said, computer storage is getting faster thanks to the popularity of SSDs. SSDs are much faster than hard drives since they use integrated circuits instead of mechanical platters that have to be read sequentially, like HDDs. SSDs use a special type of memory circuitry called non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) to store data, so those shorter term memory access points stay in place even when the computer is turned off.

Even though SSDs are faster than HDDs, they’re still slower than RAM. There are two reasons for that difference in speed. First, the memory chips in SSDs are slower than those in RAM. Second, there is a bottleneck created by the interface that connects the storage device to the computer. RAM, in comparison, has a much faster interface.

Capacity and Size

RAM is typically smaller in capacity compared to storage. It is measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB), whereas storage capacities can reach multiple terabytes or even petabytes. The smaller size of RAM is intentional, as it is designed to store only the data currently in use, ensuring quick access for the processor.

Volatility and Persistence

Another key difference is the volatility of RAM and the persistence of storage. RAM is volatile, meaning it loses its data when the power is turned off or the system is rebooted. This makes it ideal for quick data access and manipulation, but unsuitable for long-term storage. Storage is non-volatile or persistent, meaning it retains data even when the power is off, making it suitable for holding files, applications, and the operating system over extended periods.

How Much RAM Do I Have?

Understanding how much RAM you have might be one of your first steps for diagnosing computer performance issues. 

Use the following steps to confirm how much RAM your computer has installed. We’ll start with an Apple computer. Click on the Apple menu and then click About This Mac. In the screenshot below, we can see that the computer has 16GB of RAM.

With a Windows 11 computer, use the following steps to see how much RAM you have installed. Open the Control Panel by clicking the Windows button and typing “control panel,” then click System and Security, and then click System. Look for the line “Installed RAM.” In the screenshot below, you can see that the computer has 32GB of RAM installed.

How Much Computer Storage Do I Have?

To view how much free storage space you have available on a Mac computer, use these steps. Click on the Apple menu, then System Settings, select General, and then open Storage. In the screenshot below, we’ve circled where your available storage is displayed.

With a Windows 11 computer, it is also easy to view how much available storage space you have. Click the Windows button and type in “file explorer.” When File Explorer opens, click on This PC from the list of options in the left-hand pane. In the screenshot below, we’ve circled where your available storage is displayed (in this case, 200GB).

How RAM and Storage Affect Your Computer’s Performance

RAM

For most general-purpose uses of computers—email, writing documents, surfing the web, or watching Netflix—the RAM that comes with our computer is enough. If you own your computer for a long enough time, you might need to add a bit more to keep up with memory demands from newer apps and OSes. Specifically, more RAM makes it possible for you to use more apps, documents, and larger files at the same time.

People that work with very large files like large databases, videos, and images can benefit significantly from having more RAM. If you regularly use large files, it is worth checking to see if your computer’s RAM is upgradeable.

Adding More RAM to Your Computer

In some situations, adding more RAM is worth the expense. For example, editing videos and high-resolution images takes a lot of memory. In addition, high-end audio recording and editing as well as some scientific work require significant RAM.

However, not all computers allow you to upgrade RAM. For example, the Chromebook typically has a fixed amount of RAM, and you cannot install more. So, when you’re buying a new computer—particularly if you plan on using that computer for more than five years, make sure to 1) understand how much RAM your computer has, and, 2) if you can upgrade the computer’s RAM. 

When your computer’s RAM is filled up, your computer has to get creative to keep working. Specifically, your computer starts to temporarily use your hard drive or SSD as “virtual memory.” If you have relatively fast storage like an SSD, virtual memory will be fast. On the other hand, using a traditional hard drive will be fairly slow.

Storage

Besides RAM, the most serious bottleneck to improving performance in your computer can be your storage. Even with plenty of RAM installed, computers need to read and write information from the storage system (i.e., the HDD or the SSD).

Hard drives come in different speeds and sizes. For laptops and desktops, the most common RPM rates are between 5400–7200RPM. In some cases, you might even decide to use a 10,000RPM drive. Faster drives cost more, are louder, have greater cooling needs, and use more power, but they may be a good option.

New disk technologies enable hard drives to be bigger and faster. These technologies include filling the drive with helium instead of air to reduce disk platter friction and using heat or microwaves to improve disk density, such as with heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) drives and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) drives.

Today, SSDs are becoming increasingly popular for computer storage. This type of computer storage is popular because it is faster, cooler, and takes up less space than traditional hard drives. They’re also less susceptible to magnetic fields and physical jolts, which makes them great for laptops. 

For more about the difference between HDDs and SSDs, check out our post, “Hard Disk Drive (HDD) vs. Solid-state Drive (SSD): What’s the Diff?”

Adding More Computer Storage

As a user’s disk storage needs increase, typically they will look to larger drives to store more data. The first step might be to replace an existing drive with a larger, faster drive. Or you might decide to install a second drive. One approach is to use different drives for different purposes. For example, use an SSD for the operating system, and then store your business videos on a larger SSD.

If more storage space is needed, you can also use an external drive, most often using USB or Thunderbolt to connect to the computer. This can be a single drive or multiple drives and might use a data storage virtualization technology such as RAID to protect the data.

If you have really large amounts of data, or simply wish to make it easy to share data with others in your location or elsewhere, you might consider network-attached storage (NAS). A NAS device can hold multiple drives, typically uses a data virtualization technology like RAID, and is accessible to anyone on your local network and—if you wish—on the internet, as well. NAS devices can offer a great deal of storage and other services that typically have been offered only by dedicated network servers in the past.

Back Up Early and Often

As a cloud storage company, we’d be remiss not to mention that you should back up your computer. No matter how you configure your computer’s storage, remember that technology can fail (we know a thing or two about that). You always want a backup so you can restore everything easily. The best backup strategy shouldn’t be dependent on any single device, either. Your backup strategy should always include three copies of your data on two different mediums with one off-site.

FAQs About Differences Between RAM and Storage

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Programs, processes, and threads are all terms that relate to software execution, but you may not know what they really mean. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, an aspiring enthusiast, or you’re just wondering what you’re looking at when you open Task Manager on a PC or Activity Monitor on a Mac, learning these terms is essential for understanding how a computer works.

This post explains the technical concepts behind computer programs, processes, and threads to give you a better understanding of the functionality of your digital devices. With this knowledge, you can quickly diagnose problems and come up with solutions, like knowing if you need to install more memory for better performance. If you care about having a fast, efficient computer, it is worth taking the time to understand these key terms. 

What Is a Computer Program?

A program is a sequence of coded commands that tells a computer to perform a given task. There are many types of programs, including programs built into the operating system (OS) and ones to complete specific tasks. Generally, task-specific programs are called applications (or apps). For example, you are probably reading this post using a web browser application like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari. Other common applications include email clients, word processors, and games.

The process of creating a computer program involves designing algorithms, writing code in a programming language, and then compiling or interpreting that code to transform it into machine-readable instructions that the computer can execute.

Compiled vs. Interpreted Programs

Many programs are written in a compiled language and created using programming languages like C, C++, C#. The end result is a text file of code that is compiled into binary form in order to run on the computer (more on binary form in a few paragraphs). The text file speaks directly to your computer. While they’re typically fast, they are also fixed compared to interpreted programs. That has positives and negatives: you have more control over things like memory management, but you’re platform dependent and, if you have to change something in your code, it typically takes longer to build and test.

There is another kind of program called an interpreted program. They require an additional program to take your program instructions and translate that to code for your computer. Compared with compiled languages, these types of programs are platform-independent (you just have to find a different interpreter, instead of writing a whole new program) and they typically take up less space. Some of the most common interpreted programming languages are Python, PHP, JavaScript, and Ruby.

Ultimately, both kinds of programs are run and loaded into memory in binary form. Programs have to run in binary because your computer’s CPU understands only binary instructions.

What Is Binary Code?

Binary is the native language of computers. At their most basic level, computers use only two states of electrical current—on and off. The on state is represented by 1 and the off state is represented by 0. Binary is different from the number system—base 10—that we use in daily life. In base 10, each digit position can be anything from 0 to 9. In the binary system, also known as base 2, each position is either a 0 or a 1.

How Are Computer Programs Stored and Run?

Programs are typically stored on a disk or in nonvolatile memory in executable format. Let’s break that down to understand why.

In this context, we’ll talk about your computer having two types of memory: volatile and nonvolatile. Volatile memory is temporary and processes in real time. It’s faster, easily accessible, and increases the efficiency of your computer. However, it’s not permanent. When your computer turns off, this type of memory resets.

Nonvolatile memory, on the other hand, is permanent unless deleted. While it’s slower to access, it can store more information. So, that makes it a better place to store programs. A file in an executable format is simply one that runs a program. It can be run directly by your CPU (that’s your processor). Examples of these file types are .exe in Windows and .app in Mac.

What Resources Does a Program Need to Run?

Once a program has been loaded into memory in binary form, what happens next?

Your executing program needs resources from the OS and memory to run. Without these resources, you can’t use the program. Fortunately, your OS manages the work of allocating resources to your programs automatically. Whether you use Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or something else, your OS is always hard at work directing your computer’s resources needed to turn your program into a running process.

In addition to OS and memory resources, there are a few essential resources that every program needs.

• Register. Think of a register as a holding pen that contains data that may be needed by a process like instructions, storage addresses, or other data.
• Program counter. Also known as an instruction pointer, the program counter plays an organizational role. It keeps track of where a computer is in its program sequence.
• Stack. A stack is a data structure that stores information about the active subroutines of a computer program. It is used as scratch space for the process. It is distinguished from dynamically allocated memory for the process that is known as the “heap.”

What Is a Computer Process?

When a program is loaded into memory along with all the resources it needs to operate, it is called a process. You might have multiple instances of a single program. In that situation, each instance of that running program is a process. 

Each process has a separate memory address space. That separate memory address is helpful because it means that a process runs independently and is isolated from other processes. However, processes cannot directly access shared data in other processes. Switching from one process to another requires some amount of time (relatively speaking) for saving and loading registers, memory maps, and other resources.

Having independent processes matters for users because it means one process won’t corrupt or wreak havoc on other processes. If a single process has a problem, you can close that program and keep using your computer. Practically, that means you can end a malfunctioning program and keep working with minimal disruptions.

What Are Threads?

The final piece of the puzzle is threads. A thread is the unit of execution within a process.

When a process starts, it receives an assignment of memory and other computing resources. Each thread in the process shares that memory and resources. With single-threaded processes, the process contains one thread.

In multi-threaded processes, the process contains more than one thread, and the process is accomplishing a number of things at the same time (to be more accurate, we should say “virtually” the same time—you can read more about that in the section below on concurrency).

Earlier, we talked about the stack and the heap, the two kinds of memory available to a thread or process. Distinguishing between these kinds of memory matters because each thread will have its own stack. However, all the threads in a process will share the heap.

Some people call threads lightweight processes because they have their own stack but can access shared data. Since threads share the same address space as the process and other threads within the process, it is easy to communicate between the threads. The disadvantage is that one malfunctioning thread in a process can impact the viability of the process itself.

How Threads and Processes Work Step By Step

Here’s what happens when you open an application on your computer.

• The program starts out as a text file of programming code.
• The program is compiled or interpreted into binary form.
• The program is loaded into memory.
• The program becomes one or more running processes. Processes are typically independent of one another.
• Threads exist as the subset of a process.
• Threads can communicate with each other more easily than processes can.
• Threads are more vulnerable to problems caused by other threads in the same process.

Computer Process vs. Threads

What About Concurrency and Parallelism?

A question you might ask is whether processes or threads can run at the same time. The answer is: it depends. In environments with multiple processors or CPU cores, simultaneous execution of multiple processes or threads is feasible. However, on a single processor system, true simultaneous execution isn’t possible. In these cases, a process scheduling algorithm is employed to share the CPU among running processes or threads, creating the illusion of parallel execution. Each task is allocated a “time slice,” and the swift switching between tasks occurs seamlessly, typically imperceptible to users. The terms “parallelism” (denoting genuine simultaneous execution) and “concurrency” (indicating the interleaving of processes over time to simulate simultaneous execution) distinguish between the two modes of operation, whether truly simultaneous or approximated.

How Google Chrome Uses Processes and Threads

To illustrate the impact of processes and threads, let’s consider a real-world example with a program that many of us use, Google Chrome. 

When Google designed the Chrome browser, they faced several important decisions. For instance, how should Chrome handle the fact that many different tasks often happen at the same time when using a browser? Every browser window (or tab) may communicate with several servers on the internet to download audio, video, text, and other resources. In addition, many users have 10 to 20 browser tabs (or more…) open most of the time, and each of these tabs may perform multiple tasks.

Google had to decide how to handle all of these tasks. They chose to run each browser window in Chrome as a separate process rather than a thread or many threads. That approach brought several benefits.

• Running each window as a process protects the overall application from bugs and glitches.
• Isolating a JavaScript program in a process prevents it from using too much CPU time and memory and making the entire browser unresponsive.

That said, there is a trade-off cost to Google’s design decision. Starting a new process for each browser window has a higher fixed cost in memory and resources compared to using threads. They were betting that their approach would end up with less memory bloat overall.

Using processes instead of threads provides better memory usage when memory is low. In practice, an inactive browser window is treated as a lower priority. That means the operating system may swap it to disk when memory is needed for other processes. If the windows were threaded, it would be more difficult to allocate memory efficiently which ultimately leads to lost computer performance.

For more insights on Google’s design decisions for Chrome on Google’s Chromium Blog or on the Chrome Introduction Comic.

The screen capture below shows the Google Chrome processes running on a MacBook Air with many tabs open. You can see that some Chrome processes are using a fair amount of CPU time and resources (e.g., the one at the top is using 44 threads) while others are using fewer.

The Activity Monitor on the Mac (or Task Manager in Windows) on your system can be a valuable ally in fine-tuning your computer or troubleshooting problems. If your computer is running slowly or a program or browser window isn’t responding for a while, you can check its status using the system monitor.

In some cases, you’ll see a process marked as “Not Responding.” Try quitting that process and see if your system runs better. If an application is a memory hog, you might consider choosing a different application that will accomplish the same task.

Made It This Far?

We hope this Tron-like dive into the fascinating world of computer programs, processes, and threads has cleared up some questions.

At the start, we promised clarity on using these terms to improve performance. You can use Activity Monitor on the Mac or Task Manager on Windows to close applications and processes that are malfunctioning. That’s beneficial because it means you can end a malfunctioning program without the hassle of turning off your computer.

Still have questions? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

FAQ

The post What’s the Diff: Programs, Processes, and Threads appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

The terms NAS and SAN can be confusing—the technology is similar and, making matters worse, the acronyms are the reverse of each other. NAS stands for network attached storage and SAN stands for storage area network. They were both developed to solve the problem of making stored data available to many users at once. But, they couldn’t be more different in how they achieve that goal.

The TL/DR:

• NAS is a single storage device that serves files over ethernet and is relatively inexpensive. NAS devices are easier for a home user or small business to set up.
• A SAN is a tightly coupled network of multiple devices that is more expensive and complex to set up and manage. A SAN is better suited for larger businesses and requires administration by IT staff. 

Read on and we’ll dissect the nuances of NAS and SANs to help you make informed decisions about which solution best suits your storage needs.

Basic Definitions: What Is NAS?

NAS is a device or devices with a large data storage capacity that provides file-based data storage services to other devices on a network. Usually, they also have a client or web portal interface that’s easy to navigate, as well as services like QNAP’s Hybrid Backup Sync or Synology’s Hyper Backup to help manage your files. In other words, NAS is synonymous with user-friendly file sharing. 

At its core, NAS operates as a standalone device connected to a network, offering shared access to files and folders. NAS volumes appear to the user as network-mounted volumes. The files to be served are typically contained on one or more hard drives in the system, often arranged in RAID arrays. Generally, the more drive bays available within the NAS, the larger and more flexible storage options you have.

Key Characteristics of NAS:

• File-Level Access: NAS provides file-level access, ideal for environments where collaborative work and content sharing are paramount.
• Simplicity: NAS solutions offer straightforward setups and intuitive interfaces, making them accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Scalability: While NAS devices can be expanded by adding more drives, there may be limitations in terms of performance and scalability for large-scale enterprise use.

How NAS Works

The NAS device itself is a network node—much like computers and other TCP/IP devices, all of which maintain their own IP address—and the NAS file service uses the ethernet network to send and receive files. This system employs protocols like network file system (NFS) and server message block (SMB), enabling seamless data exchange between multiple users.

Benefits of NAS

NAS devices are designed to be easy to manage, making them a popular choice for home users, small businesses, and departments seeking straightforward centralized storage. They offer an easy way for multiple users in multiple locations to access data, which is valuable when users are collaborating on projects or need to share information. 

For individual home users, if you’re currently using external hard drives or direct attached storage, which can be vulnerable to drive failure, upgrading to a NAS ensures your data is better protected.  

For small business or departments, installing NAS is typically driven by the desire to share files locally and remotely, have files available 24/7, achieve data redundancy, have the ability to replace and upgrade hard drives in the system, and most importantly, support integrations with cloud storage that provide a location for necessary automatic data backups.

NAS offers robust access controls and security mechanisms to facilitate collaborative efforts. Moreover, it empowers non-technical individuals to oversee and manage data access through an embedded web server. Its built-in redundancy, often achieved through RAID configurations, ensures solid data resilience. This technology merges multiple drives into a cohesive unit, mimicking a single, expansive volume capable of withstanding the failure of a subset of its constituent drives.

Summary of NAS Benefits:

• Relatively inexpensive.
• A self-contained solution.
• Easy administration.
• Remote data availability and 24/7 access.
• Wide array of systems and sizes to choose from.
• Drive failure-tolerant storage volumes.
• Automatic backups to other devices and the cloud.

Limitations of NAS

The weaknesses of NAS primarily revolve around scalability and performance. If more users need access, the server might struggle to keep pace. If you overprovisioned your NAS, you may be able to add storage. But sooner or later you’ll need to upgrade to a more powerful system with a bigger on-board processor, more memory, and faster and larger network connections. 

Another drawback ties back to ethernet’s inherent nature. Ethernet divides data into packets, forwarding them to their destination. Yet, depending on network traffic or other issues, potential delays or disorder in packet transmission can hinder file availability until all packets arrive and are put back in order. 

Although minor latency (slowness) is not usually noticed by users for small files, in data-intensive domains like video production, where large files are at play, even milliseconds of latency can disrupt operations, particularly video editing workflows.

Basic Definitions: What Is a SAN?

On the other end of the spectrum, SANs are engineered for high-performance and mission-critical applications. They function by connecting multiple storage devices, such as disk arrays or tape libraries, to a dedicated network that is separate from the main local area network (LAN). This isolation ensures that storage traffic doesn’t interfere with regular network traffic, leading to optimized performance and data availability.

Unlike NAS, a SAN operates at the block level, allowing servers to access storage blocks directly. This architecture is optimized for data-intensive tasks like database management and virtualization or video editing, where low latency and consistent high-speed access are essential.

Key Characteristics of SANs:

• Block-Level Access: SANs provide direct access to storage blocks, which is advantageous for applications requiring fast, low-latency data retrieval.
• Performance: SANs are designed to meet the rigorous demands of enterprise-level applications, ensuring reliable and high-speed data access.
• Scalability: SANs offer greater scalability by connecting multiple storage devices, making them suitable for businesses with expanding storage needs.

How Does a SAN Work?

A SAN is built from a combination of servers and storage over a high speed, low latency interconnect that allows direct Fibre Channel (FC) connections from the client to the storage volume to provide the fastest possible performance. The SAN may also require a separate, private ethernet network between the server and clients to keep the file request traffic out of the FC network for even more performance. 

By joining together the clients, SAN server, and storage on a FC network, the SAN volumes appear and perform as if it were a directly connected hard drive. Storage traffic over FC avoids the TCP/IP packetization and latency issues, as well as any LAN congestion, ensuring the highest access speed available for media and mission critical stored data.

Benefits of a SAN

Because it’s considerably more complex and expensive than NAS, a SAN is typically used by businesses versus individuals and typically requires administration by an IT staff. 

The primary strength of a SAN is that it allows simultaneous shared access to shared storage that becomes faster with the addition of storage controllers. SANs are optimized for data-intensive applications. For example, hundreds of video editors can simultaneously access tens of GB per second of storage simultaneously without straining the network. 

SANs can be easily expanded by adding more storage devices, making them suitable for growing storage needs. Storage resources can be efficiently managed and allocated from a central location. SANs also typically include redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms to ensure data integrity and availability.

Summary of a SAN’s Benefits:

• Extremely fast data access with low latency.
• Relieves stress on a local area network.
• Can be scaled up to the limits of the interconnect.
• Operating system level (“native”) access to files.
• Often the only solution for demanding applications requiring concurrent shared access.

Limitations of a SAN

The challenge of a SAN can be summed up in its cost and administration requirements—having to dedicate and maintain both a separate ethernet network for metadata file requests and implement a FC network can be a considerable investment. That being said, a SAN is often the only way to provide very fast data access for a large number of users that also can scale to supporting hundreds of users at the same time.

The Main Differences Between NAS and SANs

Choosing the Right Solution

When considering a NAS device or a SAN, you might find it helpful to think of it this way: NAS is simple to set up, easy to administer, and great for general purpose applications. Meanwhile, a SAN can be more challenging to set up and administer, but it’s often the only way to make shared storage available for mission critical and high performance applications.

The choice between a NAS device and a SAN hinges on understanding your unique storage requirements and workloads. NAS is an excellent choice for environments prioritizing collaborative sharing and simple management. In contrast, a SAN shines when performance and scalability are top priorities, particularly for businesses dealing with data-heavy applications.

Ultimately, the decision should factor in aspects such as budget, anticipated growth, workload demands, and the expertise of your IT team. Striking the right balance between ease of use, performance, and scalability will help ensure your chosen storage solution aligns seamlessly with your goals.

Are You Using NAS, a SAN, or Both?

If you are using a NAS device or a SAN, we’d love to hear from you about what you’re using and how you’re using them in the comments.

NAS vs. SAN FAQs

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Temperature, specifically a range from cold to hot, is a common way to describe different levels of data storage. It’s possible these terms originated based on where data was historically stored. Hot data was stored close to the heat of the spinning drives and CPUs. Cold data was stored on drives or tape away from the warmer data center, likely tucked away on a shelf somewhere. 

Today, they’re used to describe how easily you can access your data. Hot storage is for data you need fast or access frequently. Cold storage is typically used for data you rarely need. The terms are used by most data storage providers to describe their tiered storage plans. However, there are no industry standard definitions for what hot and cold mean, which makes comparing services across different storage providers challenging. 

It’s a common misconception that hot storage means expensive storage and that cold storage means slower, less expensive storage. Today, we’ll explain why these terms may no longer be serving you when it comes to anticipating storage cost and performance.

Defining Hot Storage

Hot storage serves as the go-to destination for frequently accessed and mission-critical data that demands swift retrieval. Think of it as the fast lane of data storage, tailored for scenarios where time is of the essence. Industries relying on real-time data processing and rapid response times, such as video editing, web content, and application development, find hot storage to be indispensable.

To achieve the necessary rapid data access, hot storage is often housed in hybrid or tiered storage environments. The hotter the service, the more it embraces cutting-edge technologies, including the latest drives, fastest transport protocols, and geographical proximity to clients or multiple regions. However, the resource-intensive nature of hot storage warrants a premium, and leading cloud data storage providers like Microsoft’s Azure Hot Blobs and AWS S3 reflect this reality.

Data stored in the hottest tier might use solid-state drives (SSDs), which are optimized for lower latency and higher transactional rates compared to traditional hard drives. In other cases, hard disk drives are more suitable for environments where the drives are heavily accessed due to their higher durability standing up to intensive read/write cycles.

Regardless of the storage medium, hot data workloads necessitate fast and consistent response times, making them ideal for tasks like capturing telemetry data, messaging, and data transformation.

Defining Cold Storage

On the opposite end of the data storage spectrum lies cold storage, catering to information accessed infrequently and without the urgency of hot data. Cold storage houses data that might remain dormant for extended periods, months, years, decades, or maybe forever. Practical examples might include old projects or records mandated for financial, legal, HR, or other business record-keeping requirements.

Cold cloud storage systems prioritize durability and cost-effectiveness over real-time data manipulation capabilities. Services like Amazon Glacier and Google Coldline take this approach, offering slower retrieval and response times than their hot storage counterparts. Lower performing and less expensive storage environments, both on-premises and in the cloud, commonly host cold data. 

Linear Tape Open (LTO or Tape) has historically been a popular storage medium for cold data, though manual retrieval from storage racks renders it relatively slow. To access data from LTO, the tapes must be physically retrieved from storage racks and mounted in a tape reading machine, making it one of the slowest, therefore coldest, methods of storing data.

While cold cloud storage systems generally boast lower overall costs than warm or hot storage, they may incur higher per-operation expenses. Accessing data from cold storage demands patience and thoughtful planning, as the response times are intentionally sluggish.

With the landscape of data storage continually evolving, the definition of cold storage has also expanded. In modern contexts, cold storage might describe completely offline data storage, wherein information resides outside the cloud and remains disconnected from any network. This isolation, also described as air gapped, is crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. However, today, data can be virtually air-gapped using technology like Object Lock.

Traditional Views of Cold and Hot Data Storage

What Is Hot Cloud Storage?

Today there are new players in data storage, who, through innovation and efficiency, are able to offer cloud storage at the cost of cold storage, but with the performance and availability of hot storage.

The concept of organizing data by temperature has long been employed by diversified cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to describe their tiered storage services and set pricing accordingly. But, today, in a cloud landscape defined by the open, multi-cloud internet, customers have come to realize the value and benefits they can get from moving away from those diversified providers. 

A wave of independent cloud providers are disrupting the traditional notions of cloud storage temperatures, offering cloud storage that’s as cost-effective as cold storage, yet delivering the speed and availability associated with hot storage. If you’re familiar with Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, you know where we’re going with this. 

Backblaze B2 falls into this category. We can compete on price with LTO and other traditionally cold storage services, but can be used for applications that are usually reserved for hot storage, such as media management, workflow collaboration, websites, and data retrieval.

The newfound efficiency of this model has prompted customers to rethink their storage strategies, opting to migrate entirely from cumbersome cold storage and archival systems.

What Temperature Is Your Cloud Storage?

When it comes to choosing the right storage temperature for your cloud data, organizations must carefully consider their unique needs. Ensuring that storage costs align with actual requirements is key to maintaining a healthy bottom line. The ongoing evolution of cloud storage services, driven by efficiency, technology, and innovation, further amplifies the need for tailored storage solutions.

Still have questions that aren’t answered here? Join the discussion in the comments.

Hot vs. Cold Cloud Storage FAQs

The post What’s the Diff: Hot and Cold Data Storage appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

Both virtual machines (VMs) and containers help you optimize computer hardware and software resources via virtualization. 

Containers have been around for a while, but their broad adoption over the past few years has fundamentally changed IT practices. On the other hand, VMs have enjoyed enduring popularity, maintaining their presence across data centers of various scales.

As you think about how to run services and build applications in the cloud, these virtualization techniques can help you do so faster and more efficiently.  Today, we’re digging into how they work, how they compare to each other, and how to use them to drive your organization’s digital transformation.

First, the Basics: Some Definitions

What Is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual version or representation of computing resources like servers, storage devices, operating systems (OS), or networks that are abstracted from the physical computing hardware. This abstraction enables greater flexibility, scalability, and agility in managing and deploying computing resources. You can create multiple virtual computers from the hardware and software components of a single machine. You can think of it as essentially a computer-generated computer.

What Is a Hypervisor?

The software that enables the creation and management of virtual computing environments is called a hypervisor. It’s a lightweight software or firmware layer that sits between the physical hardware and the virtualized environments and allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a single physical machine. The hypervisor abstracts and partitions the underlying hardware resources, such as central processing units (CPUs), memory, storage, and networking, and allocates them to the virtual environments.  You can think of the hypervisor as the middleman that pulls resources from the raw materials of your infrastructure and directs them to the various computing instances.

There are two types of hypervisors: 

1. Type 1, bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the hardware. 
2. Type 2 hypervisors operate within a host operating system. 

Hypervisors are fundamental to virtualization technology, enabling efficient utilization and management of computing resources.

VMs and Containers

What Are VMs?

The computer-generated computers that virtualization makes possible are known as virtual machines (VMs)—separate virtual computers running on one set of hardware or a pool of hardware. Each virtual machine acts as an isolated and self-contained environment, complete with its own virtual hardware components, including CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces. The hypervisor allocates and manages resources, ensuring each VM has its fair share and preventing interference between them.

Each VM requires its own OS. Thus each VM can host a different OS, enabling diverse software environments and applications to exist without conflict on the same machine. VMs provide a level of isolation, ensuring that failures or issues within one VM do not impact others on the same hardware. They also enable efficient testing and development environments, as developers can create VM snapshots to capture specific system states for experimentation or rollbacks. VMs also offer the ability to easily migrate or clone instances, making it convenient to scale resources or create backups.

Since the advent of affordable virtualization technology and cloud computing services, IT departments large and small have embraced VMs as a way to lower costs and increase efficiencies.

VMs, however, can take up a lot of system resources. Each VM runs not just a full copy of an OS, but a virtual copy of all the hardware that the operating system needs to run. It’s why VMs are sometimes associated with the term “monolithic”—they’re single, all-in-one units commonly used to run applications built as single, large files. (The nickname, “monolithic,” will make a bit more sense after you learn more about containers below.) This quickly adds up to a lot of RAM and CPU cycles. They’re still economical compared to running separate actual computers, but for some use cases, particularly applications, it can be overkill, which led to the development of containers.

Benefits of VMs

• All OS resources available to apps.
• Well-established functionality.
• Robust management tools.
• Well-known security tools and controls.
• The ability to run different OS on one physical machine.
• Cost savings compared to running separate, physical machines.

Popular VM Providers

• VMware Workstation Player
• VirtualBox
• Xen Project
• Microsoft Hyper-V

What Are Containers?

With containers, instead of virtualizing an entire computer like a VM, just the OS is virtualized.

Containers sit on top of a physical server and its host OS—typically Linux or Windows. Each container shares the host OS kernel and, usually, the binaries and libraries, too, resulting in more efficient resource utilization. (See below for definitions if you’re not familiar with these terms.) Shared components are read-only.

Why are they more efficient? Sharing OS resources, such as libraries, significantly reduces the need to reproduce the operating system code—a server can run multiple workloads with a single operating system installation. That makes containers lightweight and portable—they are only megabytes in size and take just seconds to start. What this means in practice is you can put two to three times as many applications on a single server with containers than you can with a VM. Compared to containers, VMs take minutes to run and are an order of magnitude larger than an equivalent container, measured in gigabytes versus megabytes.

Container technology has existed for a long time, but the launch of Docker in 2013 made containers essentially industry standard for application and software development. Technologies like Docker or Kubernetes to create isolated environments for applications. And containers solve the problem of environment inconsistency—the old “works on my machine” problem often encountered in software development and deployment.

Developers generally write code locally, say on their laptop, then deploy that code on a server. Any differences between those environments—software versions, permissions, database access, etc.—leads to bugs. With containers, developers can create a portable, packaged unit that contains all of the dependencies needed for that unit to run in any environment whether it’s local, development, testing, or production. This portability is one of containers’ key advantages.

Containers also offer scalability, as multiple instances of a containerized application can be deployed and managed in parallel, allowing for efficient resource allocation and responsiveness to changing demand.

Microservices architectures for application development evolved out of this container boom. With containers, applications could be broken down into their smallest component parts or “services” that serve a single purpose, and those services could be developed and deployed independently of each other instead of in one monolithic unit. 

For example, let’s say you have an app that allows customers to buy anything in the world. You might have a search bar, a shopping cart, a buy button, etc. Each of those “services” can exist in their own container, so that if, say, the search bar fails due to high load, it doesn’t bring the whole thing down. And that’s how you get your Prime Day deals today.

Container Tools

Linux Containers (LXC): Commonly known as LXC, these are the original Linux container technology. LXC is a Linux operating system-level virtualization method for running multiple isolated Linux systems on a single host.

Docker: Originally conceived as an initiative to develop LXC containers for individual applications, Docker revolutionized the container landscape by introducing significant enhancements to improve their portability and versatility. Gradually evolving into an independent container runtime environment, Docker emerged as a prominent Linux utility, enabling the seamless creation, transportation, and execution of containers with remarkable efficiency.

Kubernetes: Kubernetes, though not a container software in its essence, serves as a vital container orchestrator. In the realm of cloud-native architecture and microservices, where applications deploy numerous containers ranging from hundreds to thousands or even billions, Kubernetes plays a crucial role in automating the comprehensive management of these containers. While Kubernetes relies on complementary tools like Docker to function seamlessly, it’s such a big name in the container space it wouldn’t be a container post without mentioning it.

Benefits of Containers

• Reduced IT management resources.
• Faster spin ups.
• Smaller size means one physical machine can host many containers.
• Reduced and simplified security updates.
• Less code to transfer, migrate, and upload workloads.

What’s the Diff: VMs vs. Containers

The virtual machine versus container debate gets at the heart of the debate between traditional IT architecture and contemporary DevOps practices.

VMs have been, and continue to be, tremendously popular and useful, but sadly for them, they now carry the term “monolithic” with them wherever they go like a 25-ton Stonehenge around the neck. Containers, meanwhile, pushed the old gods aside, bedecked in the glittering mantle of “microservices.” Cute.

To offer another quirky tech metaphor, VMs are to containers what glamping is to ultralight backpacking. Both equip you with everything you need to survive in the wilds of virtualization. Both are portable, but containers will get you farther, faster, if that’s your goal. And while VMs bring everything and the kitchen sink, containers leave the toothbrush at home to cut weight. To make a more direct comparison, we’ve consolidated the differences into a handy table:

Uses for VMs vs. Uses for Containers

Both containers and VMs have benefits and drawbacks, and the ultimate decision will depend on your specific needs.

When it comes to selecting the appropriate technology for your workloads, virtual machines (VMs) excel in situations where applications demand complete access to the operating system’s resources and functionality. When you need to run multiple applications on servers, or have a wide variety of operating systems to manage, VMs are your best choice. If you have an existing monolithic application that you don’t plan to or need to refactor into microservices, VMs will continue to serve your use case well.

Containers are a better choice when your biggest priority is maximizing the number of applications or services running on a minimal number of servers and when you need maximum portability. If you are developing a new app and you want to use a microservices architecture for scalability and portability, containers are the way to go. Containers shine when it comes to cloud-native application development based on a microservices architecture.

You can also run containers on a virtual machine, making the question less of an either/or and more of an exercise in understanding which technology makes the most sense for your workloads.

In a nutshell:

• VMs help companies make the most of their infrastructure resources by expanding the number of machines you can squeeze out of a finite amount of hardware and software.
• Containers help companies make the most of the development resources by enabling microservices and DevOps practices.

Are You Using VMs, Containers, or Both?

If you are using VMs or containers, we’d love to hear from you about what you’re using and how you’re using them. Drop a note in the comments.

VM vs. Containers FAQs

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By 2025, the world will generate 463 exabytes of data every day. That’s more or less as much data as one million storage pods. This alone should underscore why being savvy about your online data storage will only become more important in coming years.

To the uninitiated, archiving may sound like another form of data storage: by backing up your files, you are also archiving them. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Here’s the short story on the difference between these two concepts.

Backups provide for recovering data from hardware failure, data corruption, or other loss.

Archive helps you manage space limitations and long-term data retention.

So, if you are eyeing your own ever-expanding data footprint and wondering where and how to securely store it all, we have a few things to tell you about the difference between archiving and backup functions.

In this blog post, we cover how each of these data storage methods help to ensure that data is:

• Retained for the period you require.
• Protected from loss or unauthorized access.
• Able to be restored or retrieved when needed.
• Structured or tagged for locating specific data.
• Kept current according to your requirements.

Why Back Up Your Data?

The goal of a backup is to make a copy of any file that you currently use and cannot afford to lose. Typically, backups are made regularly or when the original data changes. The original file is preserved, while older backups (iterations) are deleted in favor of newer backups.

Any machine that stores valuable data—like computers, servers, VMs, and mobile devices—should be backed up. Backups can include data, operating systems (OS), and application files, or a combination of these depending on your backup approach.

Backup Uses

A backup of a desktop or mobile device might include just the user data so that a previous version of a file is recoverable if necessary, while the OS and applications can quickly be restored from original sources if necessary (although you should know that restoring an OS to a new device could lead to significant corruption issues).

In a virtual server environment, a backup could include .VMDK files that contain data and the OS as well as both structured (database) and unstructured data (files). This way, the system can be put back into service as quickly as possible if something happens to the original VM in a VMware, Hyper-V, or another virtual machine environment.

In the case of a ransomware attack, a solid backup strategy is critical for restoring a compromised system rather than paying a ransom in hopes of getting a decryption key to obtain access to your own files (and we do mean hopes because decryption keys aren’t always delivered after ransoms are paid, and even when they are, they don’t always work).

Backups can have other uses, too. You can retrieve an earlier file version because it contains something no longer in the current file or, as is possible with some backup services, share that specific version of that file with a colleague or client.

What Is an Archive?

An archive is also a copy of data specifically made for long-term storage and reference. The original data may or may not be deleted from the source system after the archive copy is made and stored, though it’s common for the archive to be the only copy of the data.

Archive Uses

In contrast to a backup, whose purpose is to be able to return a computer or file system to a state it existed in previously, an archive can have multiple purposes.

For those with requirements for easily searching through volumes of media, an archive provides simple queries through metadata attached to each file, which can be applied manually or using AI. For some businesses, an archive provides a permanent record of legal documents, film, photos, directories and more to satisfy the information retention and deletion compliance required for HIPAA, SSAE-18/SOC 2 data centers and service level agreements (SLAs).

An archive is frequently used to ease the burden on faster and more frequently accessed data storage systems. In addition, archival storage systems are usually less expensive, creating a strong motivation to move historical files elsewhere to save money on data storage.

Archives are often created based on these criteria:

• The age of the data.
• The amount of time since data was last accessed.
• Whether or not the main user is still with the organization.
• Whether the associated project has been completed or closed.

The structure of an archive is important for retrieval. Archives can use metadata describing the project and can automatically add relevant metadata, or the user can tag data manually for easier retrieval. Common metadata can include business information describing the data, or in the case of photos and videos, the equipment, camera settings, and geographical location where the media was created.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can identify and catalog subject matter in data such as photos and videos to make it easier to find. AI tools will become increasingly important as growing businesses archive more data and need to be able to find it based on parameters that might not be known at the time the data was archived.

Backup	Archive
Enables rapid recovery of live, changing data	Stores unchanging data no longer in use but must be retained
One of multiple copies of data	Usually only remaining copy of data
Restore speed: crucial	Retrieval speed: not crucial
Short Term Retention	Long Term Retention
Retained for as long as data is in active use	Retained for a required period or indefinitely
Duplicate copies are periodically overwritten	Data cannot be altered or deleted

What’s the Difference Between Restore and Retrieve?

In general, backup systems restore, and archive systems retrieve. The tools needed to perform these functions are different.

If you are interested in restoring something from a backup, it usually is a single file, a server, or structured data such as a database that needs to be restored to a specific point in time. You need to know a lot about the data:

• The last backup date.
• The database or folder.
• The filename.
• Its date.
• Data type.
• Owner’s name.

When you retrieve data from an archive, the data is connected in some manner, such as date, email recipient, period of time, or another set of parameters that can be specified in a search. A typical retrieval query might be to obtain all files related to all emails sent by a person during a specific date range. It can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack, but in this case you at least know approximately where in the haystack you dropped this specific needle.

Retrieving a backup would be like searching for a pin that has changed over time in a haystack. You’d need to keep rigorous records of where and when the files were backed up, what medium they were backed up to, and myriad other pieces of information that would need to be recorded at the time of backup.

By definition, backup systems keep copies of data currently in use, so maintaining backups for lengthy periods of time goes beyond the capabilities of backup systems and would require manual management.

The bottom line is don’t use a backup for an archive.

Why You Need Both Backup and Archive

It’s clear that a backup and an archive serve different purposes. Do you need both?

If you’re a storage-heavy business, the wise choice is yes. Consider the business reasons for choosing both data storage methods:

• Ease of Use. Reliable, remote access, and secure backup and archive make it easier to provide archived data or help you to overcome issues and meet the budget and timeline your clients desire.
• Resources. Automated and supported archives and backups keep your resources focused on business, not on technological infrastructure problems that could cause costly reboots and replication failure.
• Cost. A robust, secure archive and backup solution that is affordable and offers transparent pricing will help you to make better financial decisions related to your data production and protection.
• Compliance. Backups and archives help you to meet SLAs and industry best practices and reassure your customers.
• Protection. An archive and backup system will keep your proprietary data safe, secure, and accessible as needed so you never fall behind because of lost or corrupted data.

Backblaze for Backup and Archiving

In the Backblaze product line, Backblaze Personal Backup and Backblaze Business Backup include unlimited backups for Windows and macOS for a flat fee. Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is general purpose, pay-as-you-go object cloud storage. It is ideal for archiving, backing up servers, VMs, NAS, Linux, Macs, and PCs, and storing general object data using one of the many integrations available from Backblaze’s partners. See our pricing page for details about Backblaze B2 costs.

The task of backing up your data will only become larger as the amount of data you produce grows each year. For a backup and archiving service that won’t eat up your cash flow with the next data-heavy project—or 10—let Backblaze handle migrating everything to our B2 Cloud Storage for free. Scale up with the right tool and service for your growing storage needs.

The post What’s the Diff: Backup vs Archive appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

How many different adapters do you use to connect your computer to peripheral devices? There’s USB 3, USB-A, USB-C, HDMI… I could go on. Some of these ports and interfaces look alike, but they perform differently. We’ll tackle the two most common peripheral devices today—the USB-C and Thunderbolt 3.

Are you unsure what the differences between interfaces are and how they affect your backup plans? This installment of “What’s the Diff” is here to help!

What Is USB?

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is the most common peripheral interface used to link one device to another and connect to a power source. It’s been a standard on most Macs and PCs since the late 1990s and has been updated several times since then.

USB comes in many different size variants, but you’ll most likely find it on your computer in that familiar rectangular port. USB connects everything from external hard drives to keyboards, game controllers, network adapters, and more.

USB has been through a number of revisions over the years to be compatible with smaller devices. Each new version featured a higher data transfer speed:

• USB 2 tops out at 480 Mb/s.
• USB 3.0 has a data signaling rate of up to 5 Gb/s.
• USB 3.1 achieved a super speed of 10 Gb/s.
• USB 3.2 doubled up to reach 20 Gb/s.
• USB 4.0 uses the Thunderbolt 3 protocol for data and image transfer speeds of 40 Gb/s.

In practical terms, though, most hard drives work much slower than the latest USB versions. Thankfully, USB is backward compatible, so your faster bus will still connect (though it may limit transfer speeds, so it’s best to use the fastest device your computer can support).

Faster data transfer speeds are great, but with every new USB interface iteration, there’s a new port shape. And, a new port means that we need a new adapter.

For example, the USB 2 used mini and micro connectors to sync with non-Apple mobile phones, and you’ll find them on flash drives, webcams, and printers.

Next in line, the USB 3 sports a lightning bolt symbol indicating its super speed. The USB 3.1 is backward compatible with USB 2 and USB 1 (at slower speeds). Depending on the device, you may need a USB-A, USB-C, or MicroUSB adapter to connect.

Things get even trickier with USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 2. Both work with USB-C ports, but the USB 3.2 Gen 2 also plugs into USB-A and MicroUSB ports.

Are you confused yet?

In recognition of the dizzying array of options for connecting all of our digital devices and peripherals, the USB interface that is becoming the most common is the USB-C.

The USB-C will soon be the only interface for data or power connection accepted for digital devices in European Union countries. In 2021, the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection proposed that the USB-C would be the standard for all devices—mobile phones, digital cameras, tablets, gaming controllers, and computers. The law effectively unbundles the sale of digital devices from chargers in Europe.

It’s worth mentioning that Apple made this move back in 2015. That year, the MacBook model sported a USB-C connector as its only interface (using it for both battery charging and data transfer). But Apple is now on the line to transition all of its other devices from the Lightning charging port to the USB-C.

Aside from the USB-C connector being reversible (you can plug it in any way you like, and it fits the port), it’s also smaller with a more robust data signal. Additionally, the USB-C transfers data and powers devices. The USB-C interface is used by both Mac and PC and most peripherals on the market today. So, when the USB 4 came out in 2019, it also used the USB-C port shape.

What’s the difference between USB 4 and earlier bus? The USB 4 follows the Thunderbolt 3 protocol.

What Is Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt is a high-speed peripheral interface developed by Intel and Apple. It has been the standard-issue on the MacBook since 2011. (Thunderbolt was formerly known as Light Peak.)

The Thunderbolt protocol brought super speed data transfer to the world. The original Thunderbolt supported up to 10 Gb/s, just like the USB 3.1 Gen 1. Thunderbolt 2 doubled that, and Thunderbolt 3 doubled that again to 40 Gb/s. In addition, the Thunderbolt 3 can signal data and transfer power to connected devices. It’s easy to see that the Thunderbolt standard is faster and more efficient than the USB.

What’s more, Thunderbolt can handle video files using the same cord. Products exist to output video over USB, as well, but it requires software trickery you don’t need for Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt’s support of video is a fundamental part of the physical standard. And, with Thunderbolt 3, you won’t need a Mini DisplayPort connector to transfer video.

It’s possible to transmit up to 4K video over Thunderbolt and still have capacity left over for your hard drives. Thunderbolt’s superior bandwidth makes it a better choice if you are moving lots of data. Looking for the fastest-possible external storage for your computer? Consider a Thunderbolt SSD. They’re out there, and they’re fast as blazes!

Thunderbolt 4 was released in the summer of 2020 by Intel. It’s yet another game changer for people with lots of data to move across many devices. Thunderbolt 4 uses the USB-C interface, has a 40 Gb/s bandwidth and 15W of power for peripherals. What’s more, the Thunderbolt 2, Thunderbolt 3, and FireWire peripherals all run on the latest iteration of the protocol (with an adapter).

Here are other notable advantages of the Thunderbolt 4:

• Thunderbolt dock connects multiple high-speed monitors and devices using a single (Thunderbolt) cable.
• It connects to data externally through the PCIe bus for the highest speed access without installing software.
• Thunderbolt SSDs and docks (with integrated storage) can hold large graphic files and data files.
• It interfaces with an external capture device to improve video streaming quality.

The Thunderbolt is fast and flexible, but it’s not cheap. You’ll pay a lot more for a Thunderbolt-equipped drive than you will for a USB 3-equipped drive, but the performance can be worth it, depending on what you’re doing. Your mileage, as in all things, may vary.

What Should I Use for Backing Up?

Now that we’ve laid out the differences between USB and Thunderbolt, let’s bring the conversation around to backing up because that’s how Backblaze can help. While Backblaze Computer Backup works over your computer’s network connection, you should be using a local backup system as well.

Unless you’re backing up to a Time Capsule or another network-based backup system on your local network, chances are, your local backup system is going to be an external hard drive connected to your computer.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a computer with either a USB 3 or Thunderbolt interface, figure out your needs and budget to determine which protocol will serve you best. If you plan to move a lot of files or archive huge volumes, the difference in speed might make Thunderbolt a better choice. Otherwise, you can save a lot of money by buying a USB 3 drive instead.

Are you still confused? Have a question? Let us know in the comments. And if you have ideas for things you’d like to see featured in future installments of our “What’s the Diff” series, please let us know!

The post What’s the Diff: Thunderbolt and USB appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

On the surface, outlining the difference between digital asset management (DAM) and media asset management (MAM) might seem like splitting hairs. After all, you’re working with digital media, so what’s the difference between focusing on the “digital” vs. focusing on the “media?”

There are plenty of reasons these two terms are often used interchangeably—both exist to give organizations a central repository of digital assets from video and images to text documents. They both help manage those assets from initial raw source files, to finished production, to archive. And they both make managing and collaborating on those files much simpler for larger teams.

So, what’s the difference? Put it this way: Not all DAM systems are MAM systems, but all MAM systemss are DAM systems.

In essence, MAM is just DAM that offers more capability when it comes to video. While DAM can manage video files, it’s more of a general-purpose tool. There are a lot of nuances that get glossed over in the simplified answer, so it’s worth taking a closer look at the differences between them.

What to Expect From Any Asset Manager

Explaining the difference between a DAM system and a MAM system requires a basic understanding of what an asset manager is, so before we begin, a brief primer. The first thing you need to understand is that any given asset a team might want to work with—a video clip, a document, an image—is usually presented by the asset manager as a single item to the user. Behind the scenes, however, it is composed of three elements:

• The master source file.
• A thumbnail or proxy that’s displayed.
• Metadata about the object itself.

And unlike typical files stored on your own computer, the metadata in asset management files is far more robust than just a simple “date modified” or “file size.” It’s a broader set of attributes, including details about the actual content of the file which we will explain in further detail later on. So, with all of that said, here are the basics of what an asset manager should offer to teams:

• Collaboration: Members of content creation teams should all have direct access to assets in the asset management system from their own workstations.
• Access control: Access to specific assets or groups of assets should be allowed or restricted based on the user’s rights and permission settings. These permissions let you isolate certain files for use by a particular department, or allow external clients to view files without making changes.
• Browse: Assets should be easily identifiable by more than their file name, such as thumbnails or proxies for videos, and browsable in the asset manager’s graphical interface.
• Metadata search: Assets should be searchable by the attributes used to describe them in the file’s metadata. Metadata assignment capabilities should be flexible and extensible over time.
• Preview: For larger or archived assets, a preview or quick review capability should be provided, such as playing video proxies or mouse-over zoom for thumbnails.
• Versions: Based on permissions, team members should be able to add new versions of existing assets or add new assets so that material can be easily repurposed for future projects.

Why Metadata Matters So Much

Metadata matters because it is essentially the biggest difference between organizing content in an asset manager and just chucking it in a folder somewhere. Sure, there are ways to organize files without metadata, but it usually results in letter salad file names like 20190118-gbudman-broll-01-lv-0001.mp4, which strings together a shoot date, subject, camera number, clip number, and who knows what else. Structured file naming might be a “good enough for government work” fix, but it doesn’t scale easily to larger teams of contributors and creators. And metadata is not used only to search for assets, it can be fed into other workflow applications integrated with the asset manager for use there.

If you’re working with images and video (which you probably are if you’re using an asset manager) then metadata is vital. Because unlike text-based documents, images and video can’t be searched for keywords. Metadata can describe in detail what’s in the image or video. In the example below, we see a video of a BMW M635CSi which has been tagged with metadata like “car,” “vehicle,” and “driving” to help it be more easily searchable. If you look further down in the metadata, you’ll see where tags have been added to describe elements at precise moments or ranges of time in the video, known as timecodes. That way, someone searching for a particular moment within the video will be able to hone in on the exact segment they need with a simple search of the asset manager.

Workflow Integration and Archive Support

Whether you’re using a DAM system or a MAM system, the more robust it is in terms of features, the more efficient it is going to make your workflow. These are the features that simplify every step of the process including features for editorial review, automated metadata extraction (e.g., transcription or facial recognition), multilingual support, automated transcode, and much more. This is where different asset management solutions diverge the most and show their customization for a particular type of workflow or industry.

Maybe you need all of these flashy features for your unique set of needs, maybe you don’t. But you should know that over time, any content library is going to grow to the point where at the bare minimum, you’re going to need storage management features, starting with archiving.

Archiving completed projects and assets that are infrequently used can conserve disk space on your server by moving them off to less expensive storage, such as cloud storage or digital tape. Images and video are infamous for hogging storage, a reputation which has only become more pronounced as resolution has increased, making these files balloon in size. Regular archiving can keep costs down and keep you from having to upgrade your expensive storage server every year.

While there are a slew of different features that vary between asset managers, integrated automatic archiving might be one of the most important to look for. Asset managers with this feature will let you access these files from the graphical interface just like any other file in its system. After archiving, the thumbnails or proxies of the archived assets continue to appear as before, with a visual indication that they have been archived (like a graphic callout on the thumbnail—think of the notification widget letting you know you have an email). Users can retrieve the asset as before, albeit with some time delay that depends on the archive storage and network connection chosen.

A good asset manager will offer multiple choices for archive storage—from cloud storage, to LTO tape, to inexpensive disk—and from different vendors. An excellent one will let you automatically make multiple copies to different archive storage for added data protection.

What Is MAM?

With all of that said, we can now answer the question you came here asking: What is the difference between DAM and MAM?

While they have much in common, the crucial difference is that MAM systems are designed from the ground up for video production. There is some crossover—DAM systems can generally manage video assets, and MAM systems can manage images and documents—but MAM systems offer more tools for video production and are geared towards the particular needs of a video workflow. That means metadata creation and management, application integrations, and workflow orchestration are all video-oriented.

Both, for example, will be able to track a photo or video from the metadata created the moment that content is captured, e.g., data about the camera, the settings, and the few notes the photographer or videographer will add after. But a MAM system will allow you to add more detailed metadata to make that photo or video more easily searchable. Nearly all MAM systems offer some type of manual logging to create timecode-based metadata. MAM systems built for live broadcast events like sports provide shortcut buttons for key events, such as a face-off or slap shot in a hockey game.

More advanced systems offer additional tools for automated metadata extraction. For example, some will use facial recognition to automatically identify actors or public figures.

You can even add metadata that shows where that asset has been used, how many times it has been used, and what sorts of edits have been made to it. There’s no end to what you can describe and categorize with metadata. Defining it for a content library of any reasonable size can be a major undertaking.

MAM Systems Integrate Video Production Applications

Another huge difference between a DAM system and a MAM system, particularly for those working with video, is that a MAM system will integrate tools built specifically for video production. These widely ranging integrated applications include ingest tools, video editing suites, visual effects, graphics tools, transcode, quality assurance, file transport, specific distribution systems, and much more.

Modern MAM solutions integrate cloud storage throughout the workflow, and not just for archive, but also for creating content through proxy editing. Proxy editing gives editors a greater amount of flexibility by letting them work on a lower-resolution copy of the video stored locally. When the final cut is rendered, those edits will be applied to the full-resolution version stored in the cloud.

MAM Systems May Be Tailored for Specific Industry Niches and Workflows

To sum up, the longer explanation for DAM vs. MAM is that MAM focuses on video production, with better MAM systems offering all the integrations needed for complex video workflows. And because specific niches within the industry have wildly different needs and workflows, you’ll find MAM systems that are tailored specifically for sports, film, news, and more. The size of the organization or team matters, too. To stay within budget, a small postproduction house might want to choose a more affordable MAM system that lacks some of the more advanced features they wouldn’t need anyway.

This wide variety of needs is a large part of the reason there are so many MAM systems on the market, and why choosing one can be a daunting task with a long evaluation process. Despite the length of that process, it’s actually fairly common for a group to migrate from one asset manager to another as their needs shift.

Pro tip: Working with a trusted system integrator that serves your industry niche can save you a lot of heartache and money in the long run.

It’s worth noting that, for legacy reasons, sometimes what’s marketed as a DAM system will have all the video capabilities you’d expect from a MAM system. So, don’t let the name throw you off. Whether it’s billed as MAM or DAM, look for a solution that fits your workflow with the features and integrated tools you need today, while also providing the flexibility you need as your business changes in the future.

FAQs About Differences Between DAM and MAM

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The sheer number of cloud services on the market today can be bewildering. If you’re just starting out with the cloud, it helps to have answers to some basic questions.

Should you use private cloud storage? Public cloud storage? Pick the cheapest option and call it a day? That’s tempting, but knowing the difference can help you make a more informed decision.

In this post, we’ll dig into the pros and cons of a private cloud versus a public cloud, explain how a hybrid cloud strategy works, and help you decide which is right for you.

The First Question: What Exactly Is the Cloud?

Before you can understand the difference between a private cloud and a public cloud, we should take a step back and define what the cloud is in the first place.

Put simply, the cloud is a collection of purpose-built servers. These servers can perform one or more services (storage, compute, database, email, web, etc.) and can exist anywhere as long as they’re accessible to whomever needs to use them.

The next important question to ask is whether the servers are in a private cloud or a public cloud. This distinction was historically tied to where the servers are located, but more precisely, it reflects who uses the servers and how they use them.

What Is a Private Cloud?

If the servers are owned by and dedicated to only one organization (referred to as the user or tenant), they are in a private cloud. A private cloud can be built on-premises on hardware that you own and maintain at your location or hosted by a third party at a data center. The key defining factor is that the servers are not open to other users. The owner is responsible for the management and maintenance of the servers and planning for future capacity and performance to meet organizational needs. This planning usually involves long lead times to provision additional hardware and services (electricity, broadband, cooling, etc.) to meet the future demand.

What Is a Public Cloud?

In a public cloud, the servers are shared between multiple, unrelated tenants. A public cloud is off-site (or off-premises). Public clouds are typically owned by a vendor who sells access to servers that are co-located with many servers providing services to many users. Users contract with the vendor for the services they need. The user isn’t responsible for capital expenses (CapEx), and customers only have to pay for the resources they use as a recurring operating expense (OpEx) (see also, the difference between CapEx vs. OpEx). If their needs change, they can add or remove capacity quickly and easily by requesting changes from the vendor who reserves additional resources to meet demand from its clients.

Comparing Private Cloud to Public Cloud

To better understand private clouds and public clouds, let’s take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of each offering. By the way, there is no reason for this to be an either/or decision. In their 2021 State of the Cloud Survey, Flexera found that 78% of respondents use a hybrid cloud approach, meaning they use both public and private clouds (more on that later).

Private Cloud Storage Advantages and Disadvantages

Like any kind of technology, there are pros and cons to using a private cloud. For industries with highly specialized needs like government and defense, using a private cloud can deliver a higher level of security and service. For companies outside these industries, using a private cloud may still make sense if you have data-intensive customers in highly security-conscious fields.

Advantages of a Private Cloud

• Security. Private clouds offer a high level of security as organizations can physically secure their servers and access data through private networks.
• Low latency. Data stored in an on-premises private cloud can be served quickly since resources are located closer to users, avoiding latency (i.e., delays in data transfer).

Disadvantages of a Private Cloud

• Limited scalability. You may have to accept scalability limitations. Increasing the capacity of a private cloud in a short amount of time may not be possible.
• Cost. Private cloud services typically have higher up-front costs than public cloud services.

Public Cloud Storage Advantages and Disadvantages

There are pros and cons to using a public cloud just as there are to using private cloud storage. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages can help you decide if a public cloud is right for you.

Public Cloud Storage Advantages

• Monthly payments. In contrast to building a data center, a public cloud storage service can offer a low monthly cost instead of a significant up-front expense.
• Fast setup. Further, most public cloud services are designed to be easy to start, though there are exceptions.
• Incentives. Public cloud providers are able to offer incentives like free trials and free tiers that make their service more appealing to users.
• Scalability and speed. Public cloud services offer significant scale and speed because they can spread the cost of their infrastructure across many customers.

Public Cloud Storage Disadvantages

• Latency. Fractions of a second may not matter to most organizations, but in some industries, even small amounts of latency in sending or retrieving data to and from the cloud can cause performance problems.
• Security limitations. Some companies, like defense contractors and banks, may require a higher level of security protection. Satisfying these security requirements is easier with a private cloud. Outside of a few industries with special requirements, public cloud service is often a good option.

Differences: Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud

Which Cloud Is Right For You?

If you’re a big company or organization with special computing needs, you know whether you need to keep your data in a private data center. For businesses in certain industries, for example, government or medical, the decision to host in a private or public cloud will be determined by regulation. These requirements could mandate the use of a private cloud, but there are more and more specialized off-premises clouds with the necessary security and management to support regulated industries.

A public cloud is the cloud of choice for those whose needs don’t yet include building a dedicated data center, or who like the flexibility, scalability, and cost of public cloud offerings. If the organization has a global reach, it also provides an easy way to connect with customers in diverse locations with minimal effort.

The growing number of vendors and variety of public cloud services indicate that the trend is definitely in favor of using a public cloud when possible. Even big customers are increasingly using a public cloud due to its undeniable advantages in rapid scaling, flexibility, and cost savings.

Enter: The Hybrid Cloud

Choosing a private or public cloud is not your only option—you can also use a hybrid cloud strategy. Hybrid cloud refers to the presence of multiple deployment types (public or private) with some form of integration or orchestration between them. An organization might choose the hybrid cloud to have the ability to rapidly expand its storage or computing when necessary for planned or unplanned spikes in demand, such as those that occur during holiday seasons for a retailer, or during a service outage at the primary data center.

There are several use cases where a hybrid cloud makes sense.

1. To maximize disaster recovery speed. For companies that value speed and reliability, a hybrid cloud is a good choice for storing backups and using them in a disaster recovery scenario. Specifically, the approach here is to have a “warm disaster recovery” service on standby in the event of a disaster and then switch over to it when needed.
2. To meet regulatory requirements. Some regulations require you to store data within a specific geographic footprint. A hybrid cloud is one way to meet these requirements.
3. For data-heavy workloads. A hybrid cloud model also suits companies or departments that work with high volumes of large files like media and entertainment. They can take advantage of high-speed, on-premises infrastructure to get fast access to large media files and store data that doesn’t need to be accessed as frequently—archives and backups, for example—with a scalable, low-cost public cloud provider.

For more guidance on the hybrid cloud, including how the hybrid cloud is different from a multi-cloud approach (in short: using two public clouds in combination), see our post: “What’s the Diff: Hybrid Cloud vs. Multi-cloud.”

Choose the Best Cloud Model for Your Needs

For most businesses and organizations, the important factors in selecting a cloud will be cost, accessibility, reliability, and scalability. Whether a private or public cloud, or some combination, offers the best solution for your needs will depend on your type of business, regulations, budget, and future plans. The good news is that there are a wide variety of choices to meet just about any use case or budget.

We’d love to hear your approach to choosing cloud storage services. What is your preferred use case for a private cloud vs. a public cloud? Let us know in the comments.

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