Shared Storage

What Does Shared Storage Mean?

Shared storage is a type of storage resource that is shared or accessed by multiple users. It is generally used in enterprise IT environments where a central storage infrastructure is shared between multiple users across the organization’s network.

Techopedia Explains Shared Storage

Typically, shared storage is in the form of:

• Storage area network (SAN)
• Network attached storage (NAS)
• Storage server
• Cloud storage

To access data within the shared storage, users are required to authenticate themselves on the shared storage medium, central storage server or a storage management application. Once authenticated, and based on their permission level, users can access, modify and create data to/from the shared storage.

Shared storage can be accessed:

• Directly over the local network or through FTP
• Over the Internet through a storage management application
• Programmatic access using API