Storage Area Network & It’s Benefits

A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed special-purpose network (or subnetwork) that interconnects different kinds of data storage devices with associated data servers on behalf of a larger network of users.

Typically, a SAN is part of the overall network of computing resources for an enterprise. A SAN is usually clustered in close proximity to other computing resources such as IBM mainframes but may also extend to remote locations for backup and archival storage.

A SAN can use existing communication technology including IBM’s optical fiber, ESCON or use Fibre Channel technology. Some SAN system integrators liken it to the common storage bus, flow of data, in a personal computer.

Here are some key benefits of a SAN:

• Disaster Recovery / Business Continuance You have instantaneous access to data from multiple tiers, for disaster recovery.
• Virtualization IT managers can provision their storage infrastructure.
• Security Your data is protected when it is at rest and while it is being transported and replicated.
• Consolidation Storage professionals can consolidate resources by taking advantage of highly scalable, intelligent SAN platforms.
• Data Mobility A seamless, nondisruptive migration strategy is imperative for deployment flexibility and to support dynamic growing challenges of enterprise.