File storage is a storage tech­no­logy where data is stored as complete files in a hier­arch­ic­al folder structure and accessed via unique paths. It is par­tic­u­larly suitable for shared file systems, such as in NAS en­vir­on­ments or as a classic file server in a corporate network.

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What is file storage?

Anyone who has ever saved a file on their PC, Mac, or laptop has already en­countered file storage (or file-level storage). Files are stored in their entirety at a chosen location on the hard drive. There are two crucial aspects to this method—whether on a home PC or corporate servers:

  • Files: All data is stored as complete files.

  • Hierarchy: Files reside in a folder structure and are accessed via a path.

Unlike block storage, file storage systems don’t divide files into smaller data blocks. Instead, each file is saved and accessed as a complete unit. In contrast to object storage, where data is organised as flat objects with metadata, file storage relies on a hier­arch­ic­al structure. This hierarchy is based on a multi-level directory system: files are stored in folders, which may be nested within other folders. As a result, file paths can become quite long — and these directory paths must be known by the system or server to locate and retrieve the file. These paths and related details are stored as metadata to enable nav­ig­a­tion and file access.

File-level storage is used, apart from built-in hard drives, primarily in two different variants:

  • Network Attached Storage (NAS): An autonom­ous storage system connected to a network and available to all par­ti­cipants of that network.

  • Direct Attached Storage (DAS): Storage directly connected to a computer in the form of an external hard drive.

Different protocols can also be used for com­mu­nic­a­tion between storage and computer:

Ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of file storage

The biggest advantage of file-based storage is likely that everyone can un­der­stand the system. A hier­arch­ic­al system is known not only from IT, but also from home filing systems, which use this method. In general, it’s also quite easy to scale a system with file storage. If more capacity is needed, simply integrate another storage (e.g., in the form of a new NAS server) into the network. Multiple network par­ti­cipants can also access the storage and make changes sim­ul­tan­eously.

Although file-level storage is generally very scalable and af­ford­able, increased size also makes nav­ig­a­tion more complex. This causes the retrieval of in­di­vidu­al files to become in­creas­ingly slower. Today, this issue is somewhat mitigated by the use of AI and auto­ma­tion, which auto­mat­ic­ally offload rarely used files or in­tel­li­gently analyse access stat­ist­ics.

Ad­vant­ages Dis­ad­vant­ages
Low cost Slow access times
Easy handling
Easily scalable

File-based storage in practice

File storage in the form of a NAS is used in busi­nesses (but sometimes also in home networks) primarily as a simple file server. When struc­tured or un­struc­tured files need to be available to many users, file storage is the right choice. Its intuitive system makes it easy for all users to handle the storage. This storage method is also ideal for archiving files. Since fast access times are not necessary here, files can be stored long-term without any issues.

File storage is becoming in­creas­ingly relevant in edge and IoT scenarios. In pro­duc­tion en­vir­on­ments, with connected sensors or autonom­ous systems, it makes sense to store data locally and struc­tured to minimise latencies while enabling cent­ral­ised access.

File storage in the cloud en­vir­on­ment

The file storage ar­chi­tec­ture is also widely used in the cloud — either as a native solution or via storage gateways. These gateways link local file systems to cloud-based storage, allowing busi­nesses to offload large volumes of data without abandon­ing the familiar structure of a hier­arch­ic­al file system.

Ad­di­tion­ally, many or­gan­isa­tions are turning to global and dis­trib­uted file systems to give teams and employees in different locations shared access to central files — sup­port­ing remote col­lab­or­a­tion and stream­lined workflows.

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