automated data tiering

Automated data tiering is a type of software program that moves data files, volumes or blocks between tiered storage according to company-defined policy.

Automated data tiering monitors data usage in order to determine where data should be stored. Frequently accessed data will reside on high performance Fibre Channel or solid-state drives while infrequently accessed data gets moved to lower-cost, high-capacity drives in-house or cloud storage.

Vendors claim that automated data tiering offers a number of benefits. It can reduce the amount of time required to manage storage by dynamically classifying and moving data between storage tiers. By transferring infrequently accessed data to lower-cost drives, organizations can not only save money on high-performance drives but also improve performance by lightening the load. Additionally,  reducing the number of active files can reduce daily backup times.