In computer-speak, the term fabric covers a range of situations in which strands and types of data form the warp, and a variety of controls and tools the weft. Or maybe it’s the other way around? Either way, such a fabric describes how computing, networking, storage, and software components work together to deliver data and services.
What Is a Data Fabric?
A data fabric is a new-ish concept that describes enterprise-wide data management and delivery. Importantly, the data fabric concept is decoupled from any physical implementation and can span infrastructures across multiple clouds, datacenters (core), or even edge systems (such as Internet of Things devices, local machines, or even mobile devices).
Today, the notion of one or more central data repositories that act as hubs for access and storage is giving way to a mesh or data fabric that overlays all data sources. Simply put, a data fabric provides each consumer of data with a consistent and coherent view of all the integrated and packaged data they may need, irrespective of location (the user’s or the data’s). Also, a data fabric is a living, always-evolving collection of capabilities that grows and changes along with whatever organization it serves.
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