This topic describes the common use scenarios of File Storage NAS (NAS).
Migration of enterprise applications to the cloud
NAS provides standard NFS and SMB interfaces. On-premises applications built on NAS can be easily migrated to Alibaba Cloud. NAS provides 99.95% high availability and petabyte-level capacity elasticity based on the cloud-native architecture. NAS supports enterprise-grade capabilities such as directory quotas, access control lists (ACLs), recycle bin, and data encryption. Therefore, NAS is suitable for migrating enterprise applications to the cloud.
Container storage based on persistent volumes (PVs)
Containers are ideal for building microservices because containers support features such as cross-platform application deployment, agile application deployment, and rapid scaling. Containerization of enterprise production systems can effectively improve the agility of enterprise business. The rapid scaling and scheduling of containers require that the containers can access the original data after being scheduled to ensure that the application can be quickly restarted. NAS serves as a shared file system that allows pods to access the original data from any ECS instance. The NAS acceleration client built into Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK) allows you to manage small files on container applications with the same performance as managing files on on-premises file systems. You can use the acceleration client to effectively develop core production applications that are sensitive to I/O performance. In addition, the directory quota feature provided by NAS allows you to limit the capacity of container PVs. The recycle bin feature prevents data loss caused by accidental deletion of PVs.
High-performance computing scenarios such as AI training, genetic computing, and industrial simulation
The applications of AI training, genetic computing, and industrial simulation strongly rely on perfect file semantics and multi-machine data consistency. NAS provides standard file interfaces required for multi-machine GPU and CPU computing, multi-machine write and read consistency, and high aggregate throughput performance. When you perform computing in a container environment, the acceleration client provided by NAS allows you to manage small files on applications with the same performance as managing files on on-premises file systems. The acceleration client also provides the distributed cache capability on the computing side. This significantly improves the computing speed without increasing costs.
Content management and web services
NAS supports auto scaling and multi-machine file sharing. You can use NAS in content management systems and web services to store and provide data for websites, online publishing applications, and archiving applications. NAS provides the same features as on-premises NAS, a more flexible storage space, and a better user experience. Web developers can quickly migrate their web services to the cloud and enjoy the flexibility and rich services on the cloud.
Media and entertainment workflows
You can use NAS to share and process large files in media workflows, such as video editing, audio and video production, broadcast processing, and audio design and rendering. NAS provides a close-to-open consistency model and high-throughput file sharing services. This reduces the time required to complete the preceding workflows without the need to copy data to local disks. Multiple local file repositories are consolidated into a single location for all users.