Integrative Programming and Technologies 2

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Storage Area Network

Module 08 Storage Area Network

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. Distinguish the role of storage systems between dissimilar IT systems.
2. Compare Storage design patterns and the IT services needed to
integrate applications.

Background

A SAN (Storage Area Network) is a network designed to transfer data from servers to targets,
and it is alternative to a directly attached target architecture, or to a DAS architecture
Additional definitions of a SAN imply that the SAN should also be highly performing, and
should be such to enable storage devices to communicate with one another and with computer
systems.
Storage area networks (SANs) are the most common storage networking architecture used
by enterprises for business-critical applications that need to deliver high throughput and low
latency. A rapidly growing portion of SAN deployments leverages all-flash storage to gain its high
performance, consistent low latency, and lower total cost when compared to spinning disk. By
storing data in centralized shared storage, SANs enable organizations to apply consistent
methodologies and tools for security, data protection, and disaster recovery.
Storage Area Networks are versatile enterprise resources whose value depends on how
much is shared. In other words, sharing is profoundly the nature of SANs, and if you intend to
dedicate a SAN to a server or a group of servers, you basically defeat the purpose of the SAN.

The concept of a virtual SAN is not limited to simply security considerations from networking
vendors. Much recent use of the term virtual SAN leans heavily on the virtual side of the phrase.
Virtualization vendors employ the term virtual SAN to imply an approach to the SAN that allows for
more rapid provisioning of virtualized storage. Beyond provisioning, virtualization vendors tout the
virtual SAN as a means to leverage virtualization to afford simpler linear scalability to the storage
area network.

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Storage Area Network

SAN ARCHITECTURE
Storage is accessed at block level not at file level with exemplary performances. Storage is
shared and there’s also a good management tools however there is interoperability issues.

DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES
Multiple technology can be used when building a SAN; traditionally the dominant technology is
Fiber Channel, but IP based solutions are also quite popular for specific applications. The
concept of SAN is also independent from the devices that are attached to it. Can be disks, tapes,
RAIDs, file servers, or other.
SAN AND NAS: NETWORK AND NODE
SAN vs NAS: while a SAN is a network connecting storage subsystems, the NAS is a storage
subsystem, making use of a general purpose network. The SAN is an extension of the disk
channel outside the server, while the NAS is a disk subsystem connected to the servers, in most
cases via an IP network.
HARD DRIVES
The basic storage element is a Hard Drive. They are made into complex devices composed of
platters, heads, cylinders and tracks. File systems arrange files into sectors so that they can be
stored and retrieved. The File system usually deals with clusters of blocks and uses a FAT (File
Allocation Table) to map a file to the sectors.
SAN VIRTUALIZATION
As it has been found quite complex, virtualization concept came into picture for the sake of
effective and efficient management of SAN. Virtualization can be defined as an abstracted
management of huge amounts of equipment and data. Virtualization takes all diverse and large
complex storage devices and makes them appear as one Hugh volume. Presently there are three
proven methodologies for achieving SAN virtualization in the market.

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Storage Area Network

TYPES OF SAN VIRTUALIZATION

Host-based virtualization - This methodology requires a control software program on every
server that accesses the SAN. The main benefits out of this are easy installation and access.
Storage-based virtualization - It works in a homogeneous hardware environment, i.e., everything
has to be from the same vendor.

A SAN appliance virtualizes storage and has the effect of converting various storage devices into one
big disk. This big virtual disk stores terabytes of data that can allocate storage to different
applications quickly and painlessly.

SAN ADVANTAGES
SAN Architecture facilitates scalability - Any number of storage devices can be added to store
hundreds of terabytes.
Sharing SAN is possible - As SAN is not directly attached with any particular server or network, a
SAN can be shared by all.
SAN provides long distance connectivity - With Fibre channel capable of running up to 10 kilometers,
we can keep our data in a remote, physically secure location.
SAN is truly versatile - A SAN can be single entity, a master grouping of several SANs

SAN DISADVANTAGES
SANs are very expensive as Fibre channel technology tends to be pricier and maintenance requires a
higher degree of skill .
Management of SAN systems has proved to be a real tough one due to various reasons. Also for some,
having a SAN storage facility seems to be wasteful one.

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Storage Area Network

Also, there are a few SAN product vendors due to its very high price and very few mega enterprises
need SAN set up.

CONCLUSION
SAN is literally a separate network devoted entirely to storage. Almost all SANs communicate and
connect to servers via a Fibre channel host adopter card and switch.

References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals
1. Information Storage and Management: Storing, Managing, and Protecting Digital
Information in Classic, Virtualized, and Cloud Environments” by EMC Education Services
2. Storage Area Network Fundamentals by Meeta Gupta, Published by Cisco Press.

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

https://www.netapp.com/us/info/what-is-storage-area-network.aspx
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/storage-area-network
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/generation-programming-languages/

Online Instructional Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzjhHNfFQW0

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