Storage Area Networks

Chapter 1 - Introduction
Contents
Server-centric IT architecture and Its Limitations

Storage-centric IT architecture and Its Advantages

Case study: Replacing a server with Storage Networks

The Data Storage and the Data Access Problem

The Battle for size and access.
Importance of Data
Stored data and information that it contains are
the prized possessions for a company.

The computers necessary for data processing
can be purchased at any time.

If stored data is lost, getting it back is infinitely
more expensive and time consuming.

Data networks must be designed with built-in
redundancy and for high availability.
What is storage?
In a computer, storage is the place where data is
held in an electromagnetic or optical form for
access by the processor.

Storage is divided into two categories:

1) Primary Fast e.g. RAM, ROM, L1 and L2 caches

2) Secondary Slow e.g. Hard disks, Diskettes, ZIP
drives, RAID systems and holographic storage.

Hierarchy of Storage
Smaller
Larger
C
a
p
a
c
i
t
y

Higher
Lower
C
o
s
t

RAM
Disk
Optical
Tape
Cache
Faster
Slower
S
p
e
e
d

What is storage? - Challenges
What data to keep?

How to keep the data?

Where to keep the data?

What is network?
Computer network is a collection of computers
and devices

- interconnected by communication channels
that facilitate communications and

- allows for sharing of resources and information
among interconnected devices.

Types of networks: LAN, MAN, WAN


Client Server Model








Directly connected storage in traditional client server environments.
Connectivity and Communication
in
Client Server Model
The server uses the I/O bus to connect
with a storage device.


The server communicates with the
storage through a device-specific
language or protocol.

What is storage network?
Paradigm shift in how data is stored
and accessed within computer
systems.

Storage devices are connected
directly to an existing network or
through its own storage network.
Storage networking Technologies

Two distinct models


1) Network-Attached Storage NAS

2) Storage Area Networks SAN.

1) Network-Attached Storage NAS


It allows storage to be placed onto an existing
client/server network.


Based upon Ethernet standards utilizing
standard TCP/IP network protocols.

1) Network-Attached Storage NAS










NAS example showing enhancements to data access
2) Storage Area Network - SAN

SANs create a unique network just for
storage.

SANs are based on a protocol called Fibre
Channel.
Storage Area Network - SAN
It is a specialized high-speed network
connecting servers and storage devices.

It is the network behind the servers.

Its primary purpose is the transfer of data
between computer systems and storage
elements.

It consists of
- a communication infrastructure , which provides connections, and

- a management layer, which organizes the connections, storage elements,
and computer systems.
NAS vs SAN
Sl No NAS SAN
1 An Independent device A network of storage devices
2 Attached on the primary LAN Acts as a secondary network to
LAN
3 Connected by Ethernet Connected by Fibre Channel or
iSCSI
4 NAS appears as a single node on
network
SAN appears as an extra storage
for each server.
5 Best suited for file sharing and
applications involving data
transfer of short duration and
volume
Best suited for data intensive
applications and mission critical
database applications
1) Server Centric IT architecture
Client Server Model
1) Server Centric IT architecture
Storage devices are connected to servers by means of SCSI cables.
1) Server Centric IT architecture
Storage device exists only in relation to
the server to which it is connected.

Other servers cannot directly access the
data; they always have to go through the
server that is connected to the storage
device.


1) Server-Centric Its limitations
The server (s) connected to the storage devices may fail,
leading to the loss of valuable data.

Storage capacity that can be connected to a computer is
limited because

--- Each computer can accommodate only a limited number of
I/O cards.
---The length of SCSI cables is limited to a maximum of 25m.

A computer cannot access storage devices that are
connected to a different computer.
1) Server-Centric Its limitations





The storage capacity on server 2 is full. It cannot make
use of the fact that there is still storage space free on
server 1 and server 3
2) Storage Centric IT architecture
Storage devices exist completely independent of
any computer

The SCSI cable is replaced by a network that is
installed in addition to the existing LAN.

The network is primarily used for data exchange
between computers and storage devices.

IT architectures with storage networks.
2) Storage Centric IT architecture
2) Storage Centric IT architecture
Many small hard disks attached to the
computers are replaced by a large disk
subsystem.

The storage network permits all computers
to access disk subsystem and share it.
Replacing a server with storage
networks















(1)The old server is connected to a storage device via a storage network

(2) The new server is assembled and connected to the storage network

(3) To generate test data the production data is copied within the storage device.
Replacing a server with storage
networks









(4) Old server and new server share the storage system.
The new server is intensively tested using the copied
production data
Replacing a server with storage
networks








Finally,
(5) The old server is powered down and
(6) The new server is started up with the production data.