Storage Area Network

(SAN)
SAN Definition
A SAN is an intelligent network environment in which storage resources
are deployed and managed independently of any single server . . . .

SAN components
Fibre Channel Network
Host Bus Adapter (HBA)
Enterprise Storage
SAN Components
Fibre Channel Network - Host Bus Adapter (HBA) - Enterprise Storage

Fibre Channel (FC) Network

A high performance (200 MB/sec) redundant network
made up of fibre channel switches for deploying and
sharing enterprise resources
SAN Components
Fibre Channel Network - Host Bus Adapter (HBA) - Enterprise Storage

Host Bus Adapter (HBA)

Similar to a SCSI adapter card or a LAN
network interface card (NIC), provides the
server with a FC interface to the SAN
SAN Components
Fibre Channel Network - Host Bus Adapter (HBA) - Enterprise Storage

Enterprise Storage
Any storage device with FC interface that is
interoperable with the switches, HBAs, servers
and server operating systems in the network
User Requirements
Why SAN ?
Increased storage capacity
Support for multiple storage/server architectures
Continuous/High availability
Cross-platform solutions
User Requirements
Why SAN ?
Support higher levels of I/O activity
Higher performance backup/restore
Data sharing
Secure Assets
SAN Benefits
Performance
FC @ 200MB/sec vs SCSI @ 40MB/sec
Availability
Redundancy, non-disruptive upgrades

Scalability
Add or re-deploy storage as needed
SAN Benefits
Flexibility
New, advanced SAN devices can easily be added as
older devices wear out or become obsolete
Backup/restore/archive
Move data at FC speed vs LAN (up to 100x)
Centralized storage management
Manage SAN as a single entity (shared resources)
SAN Benefits
Reduced costs
Storage management, capacity overhead

Data sharing
Access to any data on SAN

Secure Assets
Multiple layers of security to ensure data integrity
SAN Benefits
Remote Replication
Geographical data replication for disaster recovery

SAN to SAN Copy

Copy data from disk to disk geographically using
SAN technology
SAN Servers – Operating Systems
Open Systems Servers
HBA
SAN (Fibre Channel) NIC
NT/

FABRIC SWITCHES
W2K

HBA HBA HBA

AIX
HP-UX
Solaris

NIC
                          
                  NIC NIC

LAN (Ethernet)
SAN Storage – 9960 Storage

Performance Connectivity
Hundreds of 2-Gbit/sec Fibre Channel interfaces
allow thousands of MB/sec aggregate data rates
Reliability/Availability
Fully redundant components allow for non-disruptive
maintenance and upgrades
Scalability
105 TB disk storage now installed and growing
28 GB cache, can scale to 32 GB cache memory
The Network – Brocade Switches
Performance/Connectivity
Hundreds of 2-Gbit/sec
ports provide SAN
connectivity to HDS storage
and Enterprise-class tape
Reliability/Availability
Brocade is the market leader
in FC switch technology
Multiple switches provide
redundancy for SAN
components
SAN Storage – Backup/Recovery

Veritas Net Backup

Lan-free, server-free backup, directly from SAN
storage through the switch to Enterprise-class
StorageTek Automated Tape Library
Performance
Backup data moves at fibre channel speed, up to
100 times faster than LAN backup, 5 times faster
than SCSI
SAN Replication – Disaster Recovery
SAN Replication – Disaster Recovery
SAN Replication – Disaster Recovery
…are linked together via the USDA Wide Area Network.

The link is an asynchronous channel extension for

distance and secured with encryption.
NITC Offering

NITC is offering SAN as a

total Enterprise solution for
your immediate and long
term IT needs.
 “Partnering for Success”

Business Contact: 888-USE-NITC

www.ocio.usda.gov/nitc