Storage Area Network (SAN) : Presenters: Arun Kumar Kamepally Udaya Tummala
Storage Area Network (SAN) : Presenters: Arun Kumar Kamepally Udaya Tummala
Storage Area Network (SAN) : Presenters: Arun Kumar Kamepally Udaya Tummala
(SAN)
Presenters:
Arun Kumar Kamepally
Udaya Tummala
Contents
Introduction
RAID
SAN definition
SAN Environment
SAN components
SAN topologies
SAN management
Introduction
Data has became more important and technology has become obsolete to handle huge data.
Traditionally local storage devices are used to store data. Later storing data centrally and
making it available has become cost effective to handle data.
Network storage is simply about storing data using a method by which it can be made available
to clients on the network.
Different Storage technology
DAS
NAS
SAN
Storages RAID:
RAID is a method used to inexpensively put together a set of physical hard drives into a logical
array of storage devices.
RAID provides fault tolerance compared to standalone disk drives.
RAID does this by mirroring data or implementing parity check operations.
RAID can be performed using hardware or host based software.
Several types of RAID can be used, including one or more of these
RAID 0 (striping)
RAID 1 (mirroring)
RAID 3 (error detection)
RAID 5 (error correction)
Definition
A SAN is a High- speed Special Purpose Network that interconnects different kinds of data storage devices with
data servers.
Hubs, switches and bridges are used for connecting to different devices.
SAN is a set of protocols and technologies that permit storage devices to have direct connections with
servers over some distance.
In addition, a SAN permits the storage devices to be shared among a number of servers based on select
criteria. VSAN technologies, a group of discrete SANs can be connected together using a “ virtual “ SAN
fabric.
What makes SAN?
SAN SAN
Management Software
Continue…….
A SAN can be used to bypass traditional network bottlenecks. It supports direct, high speed data
transfers between servers and storage devices in the following three ways:
Server to storage:
This is the traditional model of interaction with storage devices. The advantage is that the same
storage device may be accessed serially or concurrently by multiple servers.
Server to server:
A SAN may be used for high-speed, high-volume communications between servers.
Storage to storage:
This outboard data movement capability enables data to be moved without server intervention,
thereby freeing up server processor cycles for other activities like application processing.
Technologies in SAN:
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.
Hubs, switches and bridges are used for connecting to different devices.
SAN components
Fibre Channel Network:
A high performance (200 MB/sec) redundant network made up of fibre channel switches for
deploying and sharing enterprise resources.
Enterprise Storage:
Any storage device with FC interface that is interoperable with the switches, HBAs, servers and
server operating systems in the network
SAN Advantages:
SAN Architecture facilitates scalability. Storage devices can be added to store hundreds of terabytes.
Sharing SAN is possible. SAN is not directly attached with any particular server or network, SAN can
be shared by all.
SAN is truly versatile. A SAN can be single entity , a master grouping of several SANs.
SAN,NAS,DAS
Point to point:
Point to point is the simplest topology with lited connectivity needs
It guarantees in delivery and full bandwidth access.
Application can handle any multipath connectivity to a set of disks in case this is provided, since
no other elements are present in this topology.
Arbitrated loop:
Designed to scale to a limited number of nodes.
Low cost
Arbitration protocols designed to manage media sharing across nodes
may be disruptive when a node gets added/ removed from loop and loop
initialization protocol kicks in
A arbitrating hub can be used instead of a distributed protocol
Switched Fabric:
In this switching element get added to allow interconnections via point to point links.
Extended number of devices and greater distances can be achieved
Scalable, robust and reliable architecture.
SAN management
i. Storage level : is comprised of the storage devices that integrate the SAN, such as disks, disk arrays,
tapes, and tape libraries.
ii. Network level: is comprised by all the components that provide connectivity, such as cables, switches,
inter-switch links, gateways, routers.
iii. Enterprise Level: comprises all devices and components present in a SAN environment, as well as the
workstations indirectly connected to it
References
[1] Rabe, Bruce R., Mark Clifford, and Norm Miles. "Storage area network (SAN) management system
for discovering SAN components using a SAN management server." U.S. Patent No. 7,194,538. 20 Mar.
2007.
[2] Sacks, David. "Demystifying Storage Networking DAS, SAN, NAS, NAS Gateways, Fibre Channel,
and iSCSI." Published by IBM storage networking(2001).
[3] Clark, Tom. Designing Storage Area Networks: A Practical Reference for Implementing Storage
Area Networks. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., 2003.
[4] Khattar, Ravi Kumar, et al. Introduction to Storage Area Network, SAN. IBM Corporation,
International Technical Support Organization, 1999.