In computing, a data warehouse (DW or DWH), also known as an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), is a system used for reporting and data analysis, and is considered a core component of business intelligence. DWs are central repositories of integrated data from one or more disparate sources. They store current and historical data in one single place, that are used for creating analytical reports for workers throughout the enterprise

Designing storage systems that can handle the requirements of big data applications is a task that many storage administrators are starting to tackle in their own environments. In this Search Storage Ask the Expert guide, John Webster, a senior partner analyst at the firm Evaluator Group based in Boulder, Colo., answers some of the most frequently asked questions on big data storage architecture, including how to spec a storage system for use by big data applications, guidance on protecting big data sets, advice on selecting an object or scale-out file system to manage data, and what to look for when using the Hadoop Distributed File System. Whether you’re concerned about using RAID or defining a data warehouse project, Webster’s expert analysis offers practical insight into big data architectures and the technology that supports them.

Big data applications vary by organization, but according to Webster, there are two general categories they fall under: large-capacity applications that need to hold hundreds of terabytes of data, and performance-intensive big data analytics apps. In this Ask the Expert, Webster details why bandwidth and response times are such critical factors when dealing with both of these application types.

The capacity requirements of big data operations mean new challenges when protecting your organization’s data. Find out what Webster has to say about RAID technology today and whether it’s up to par for securing the massive, multi-petabyte data sets associated with big data architectures.