NAS-based storage allows SAs to isolate the file service workload away from
other servers, making it easy for SAs to consolidate customer data onto a few
large servers rather than have it distributed all over the network. In addition,
applying consistent backup, usage, and security policies to the file servers
is easier.
Many sites grow their infrastructures somewhat organically, over time.
It is very common to see servers shared between a department or particular
user group, with the server providing both computing and file-sharing
services. Moving file-sharing services to a NAS box can significantly reduce
the workload on the server, improving performance for the customers. Filesharing
overhead is not completely eliminated, as the server will now be
running a client protocol to access the NAS storage. In most cases, however,
there are clear benefits.