1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to network data management and, more specifically, to a system and method for efficiently storing and retrieving network and application data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's computer networks are extremely complex, with hundreds or more of applications, thousands or more of servers, hundreds or more of locations, hundreds of thousands of clients, and network traffic routed by numerous switches and routers on the computer networks. Network and application data collected from various parts of the network can provide insight into network conditions, but the enormous amount of data present a challenge for data storage, processing, and retrieval.
Conventional data storage systems allow for the storage and retrieval of data. However, storage and access times of conventional systems suffer greatly as the amount of data stored is increased. Presently available systems are inadequate for failing to store data in a manner such that it can be rapidly retrieved for network analysis. Furthermore, because data is stored inefficiently, an insufficient amount of network data is retained for future analysis.
Therefore, there is a need for a technique for efficiently storing and retrieving network data collected from a network.