Database and Storage

 

The main components of computer are Central Processing Unit (CPU), Memory, and Storage. With comparison to human brain, CPU is the core part in charge of thought processes, Memory takes part of the short-term memory assisting these processes, and Storage covers the long-term memory storing information about experiences and knowledge. The computer server is composed of them while proportion of each component depends on the work duty of each server. A personal computer (PC) contains these three components together with a smaller scale inside it. People are often confused with the difference between the database (DB) server and the storage server because they tend to think both functions are the same or similar to each other whereas they take a part of different roles from each other. 

The DB server deals with sorting the data which must be ready to be downloaded, uploaded, and queried at any time the task is carried out inside this server network. Its weight on CPU and Memory is relatively higher than the storage server specialising in Storage. The DB server needs constant electricity supply all the time for running its CPU and Memory. There are basically two types of database, the vertically scalable database for the structured datasets, sorted out by the specialised programming language such as the Standard Query Language (SQL), and the horizontally scalable database for non-structured datasets. The former is good at the complex processes of handling the datasets required to be properly structured whilst the latter is for handling the multiple kinds of large datasets together at once. There are also furthermore specialised DB servers for such as data analysis, chart creation, data transfer, and data warehousing requiring a complex data query. In particular nowadays, the big data handling is so demanded all the more that an independent DB function each purpose is necessary to equip. Therefore, each independent DB server for each specialised task is more required than before. 

The storage server is for storing various sorts of information including the information of the already processed data and the archive memories of any workload of the entire server network. Although it does not need a constant electric supply, there is a required process for querying the information query. For example, with reference to Amazon Web Service (AWS), Amazon Athena, the interactive query service applying the standard SQL for analysis, is used for calling the storage service of AWS called Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3). The snapshots of various archives are stored there as a backup for a sufficiently long time period, which requires the process for restoring them. The logs of actions taking places in a server network are often stored in the storage service because the quantity created for the logs is huge and they have to be stored without being modified for a long-term. A static website, not needing a constant feed of streaming data, can be located in the storage server such as Amazon S3 instead of the server instance such as Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2).

Overall, focusing on the difference between their tasks, it clarifies the difference between DB and storage specialising in their own unique tasks borne to each other. Specialised DB is demanded for various specialised data handling tasks. Various compliance issues demand a durable storage capable to store the information set with a substantially high volume in a sufficiently long term. The key to understand it is to understand the factors of these computer components.