What term refers to network-attached storage that is accessed via TCP/IP protocol?

The term that refers to network-attached storage accessed via the TCP/IP protocol is Network-Attached Storage, commonly abbreviated as NAS. NAS is designed to provide storage that is connected to a network and allows multiple users to retrieve and store data in a centralized location. It utilizes standard network protocols such as TCP/IP, making it accessible over a local area network (LAN) or the internet. This accessibility is what sets NAS apart, as it facilitates file sharing and collaboration among users and devices.

In contrast, Storage Area Networks (SAN) primarily use protocols like Fibre Channel or iSCSI, which are optimized for speed and block-level data storage, rather than the file-level access that NAS provides. Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) refers to storage that is directly connected to a single computer or server without a network layer in between, meaning it is not sharable over a network in the same way NAS is. Cloud Storage typically involves storing data on remote servers accessed over the internet but is not confined to being network-attached storage in the traditional sense as defined for NAS.