Almost any size business can benefit from some type of
storage area network (SAN) -- or "network
storage"; whether it's
network-attached storage (NAS),
iSCSI-based
IP storage or
Fibre Channel (FC) storage. It's really
about scaling the right technology to the particular
environment.
@30647 A SAN might be overkill for an environment with one or
two servers but that could be an excellent environment for using
NAS. As you contend with more servers, you've got more opportunity
for shared storage and consolidated management. That's where iSCSI
SANs come in. As your infrastructure grows larger and includes even
more servers with higher performance requirements, a small FC SAN
may be just the right fit.
The key is to match the storage technology to your own
particular needs, but don't get hung up on the cabling (e.g., iSCSI
vs. FC). Focus on the storage and management capabilities. Features
like snapshots for point-in-time copies to support
backup,
replication, local and remote
mirroring functionality, levels of
RAID, the ability to add storage dynamically
and upgrade seamlessly without disruptions are just some storage
abilities that can benefit an organization. Choose the level of
functionality that is most important for your storage
objectives.
Listen to the
SAN FAQ audiocast here.
Go back to the beginning of the
Storage Area Network FAQ Guide.