A technology that automates storage management and lowers storage costs by automatically migrating infrequently accessed files from local storage to remote storage and recalling the files upon user demand.

HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) is policy-based management of file backup and archiving in a way that uses storage devices economically and without the user needing to be aware of when files are being retrieved from backup storage media. Although HSM can be implemented on a standalone system, it is more frequently used in the distributed network of an enterprise. The hierarchy represents different types of storage media, such as redundant array of independent disks systems, optical storage, or tape, each type representing a different level of cost and speed of retrieval when access is needed. For example, as a file ages in an archive, it can be automatically moved to a slower but less expensive form of storage. Using an HSM product, an administrator can establish and state guidelines for how often different kinds of files are to be copied to a backup storage device. Once the guideline has been set up, the HSM software manages everything automatically. (www.whatis.com)

The automated migration of data objects among storage devices, usually based on inactivity. Abbreviated HSM. Hierarchical storage management is based on the concept of a cost-performance storage hierarchy. By accepting lower access performance (higher access times), one can store objects less expensively. By automatically moving less frequently accessed objects to lower levels in the hierarchy, higher cost storage is freed for more active objects, and a better overall cost: performance ratio is achieved. (Provided by SNIA)

Software that automatically migrates files from on-line to near-line storage media, usually on the basis of the age or frequency of use of the files.

In AS/400 storage management, an automatic method to manage and distribute data between the different storage layers. The storage layers can include high-performance disk units, compressed disk units, and tape library devices.

Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) is a data storage technique that automatically moves data between high-cost and low-cost storage media. HSM systems exist because high-speed storage devices, such as hard disk drives, are more expensive (per byte stored) than slower devices, such as optical discs and magnetic tape drives. While it would be ideal to have all data available on high-speed devices all the time, this is prohibitively expensive for many organizations.