Definitions for "Hierarchical storage management"
Keywords:  hsm, migrates, slower, snia, whatis
A technology that automates storage management and lowers storage costs by automatically migrating infrequently accessed files from local storage to remote storage and recalling the files upon user demand.
HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) is policy-based management of file backup and archiving in a way that uses storage devices economically and without the user needing to be aware of when files are being retrieved from backup storage media. Although HSM can be implemented on a standalone system, it is more frequently used in the distributed network of an enterprise. The hierarchy represents different types of storage media, such as redundant array of independent disks systems, optical storage, or tape, each type representing a different level of cost and speed of retrieval when access is needed. For example, as a file ages in an archive, it can be automatically moved to a slower but less expensive form of storage. Using an HSM product, an administrator can establish and state guidelines for how often different kinds of files are to be copied to a backup storage device. Once the guideline has been set up, the HSM software manages everything automatically. (www.whatis.com)
The automated migration of data objects among storage devices, usually based on inactivity. Abbreviated HSM. Hierarchical storage management is based on the concept of a cost-performance storage hierarchy. By accepting lower access performance (higher access times), one can store objects less expensively. By automatically moving less frequently accessed objects to lower levels in the hierarchy, higher cost storage is freed for more active objects, and a better overall cost: performance ratio is achieved. (Provided by SNIA)