Determining Organizational and Application Requirements

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Determining your organization’s storage requirements not only involves considering your company’s business needs, but also any requirements related to your line of business applications. For example, a client application might need to access data on file servers by using a single UNC path, but your storage plan calls for providing fault tolerance by storing the data on two servers. The requirements of this client application could be met by implementing DFS. The first step in planning for storage, consequently, involves determining both the needs of your organization and the needs of your applications. Collectively, they will define your storage requirements. This process is shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2   Determining Organizational and Application Requirements