Storage Technology Definitions

This glossary explains the meaning of key words and phrases that information technology (IT) and business professionals use when discussing storage and related software products. You can find additional definitions by visiting WhatIs.com or using the search box below.

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  • U

    What is unified storage? Features, pros/cons, comparison to block/file storage

    Unified storage, sometimes called network unified storage (NUS) or multiprotocol storage, is a storage system that combines block and file storage and enables users to run and manage files and applications from a single device.

  • V

    virtual LUN (virtual logical unit number)

    A virtual LUN (virtual logical unit number) is a representation of a storage area that is not tied to any physical storage allocation.

  • virtual SAN appliance (VSA)

    A virtual SAN appliance (VSA) is a software bundle that allows a storage manager to turn the unused storage capacity in his network's virtual servers into a storage area network (SAN).

  • VRAM (video RAM)

    VRAM (video RAM) refers to any type of random access memory (RAM) specifically used to store image data for a computer display.

  • What is a virtual storage area network (VSAN)? How it works, benefits and use cases

    A virtual storage area network (VSAN) is a logical partition in a physical storage area network, or SAN.

  • What is virtual memory?

    Virtual memory is a memory management technique where secondary memory can be used as if it were a part of the main memory.

  • W

    What is wear leveling?

    Wear leveling is a process that is designed to extend the life of solid-state storage devices.

  • World Wide Name (WWN)

    A World Wide Name (WWN) is a unique identifier that is hard-coded into each Fibre Channel (FC) device by the device's manufacturer.

  • WORM (write once, read many)

    In computer media, write once, read many, or WORM, is a data storage technology that allows data to be written to a storage medium a single time and prevents the data from being erased or modified.

  • write amplification factor (WAF)

    Write amplification factor (WAF) is a numerical value that represents the amount of data a solid-state drive (SSD) controller writes in relation to the amount of data that the host's flash controller writes.

  • write endurance

    Write endurance is the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles that can be applied to a block of flash memory before the storage media becomes unreliable.

  • Y

    yobibyte (YiB)

    A yobibyte (YiB) is a unit of measure used to describe data capacity as part of the binary system of measuring computing and storage capacity.

  • yottabyte (YB)

    A yottabyte (YB) is a measure of theoretical storage capacity and data volumes equal to 2 to the 80th power bytes, or approximately a million trillion megabytes (MB).

  • Z

    What is a zettabyte (ZB)?

    A zettabyte (ZB) is a unit of measurement used by technology professionals and the general public to describe a computer's or other device's storage capacity.

  • What is ZFS?

    ZFS is a local file system and logical volume manager created by Sun Microsystems to direct and control the placement, storage and retrieval of data in enterprise-class computing systems.

  • zebibyte (ZiB)

    A zebibyte (ZiB) is a unit used to measure computing and storage capacity.