SAN Confused?


Demands placed on a network

When the roll out of broadband internet connections began, it was heralded as the solution to many of the problems that all internet users experienced; pages that were slow to load, long download times, poor latency for webcams and online games to name but a few. The prospect of being able to share large files and view streaming video was also being touted as an advantage of a faster connection. However, as is inevitably the case, as connection speeds increased so did user’s expectations. Not only did streaming video and file sharing become the norm, but businesses and companies came to expect the highest standards and performance from their networks in order to increase efficiency and maintain an edge over their rivals.

Videos, images, instant messaging and access to databases are vital to a competitive business as any system crashes, lost or corrupted files, downtime or inefficient procedures can hamper the chances of success. If a business has no coherent process for data storage, it can only spell trouble further down the line as it grows. This is where a storage area network can be a crucial investment.

What is a storage area network?

A managed SAN, or storage area network, is a device which links together storage devices such as servers or tape drives, and allows users to connect to them. A managed SAN will make the storage device appear as if it connected locally to a user’s computer, meaning that accessing data or backing up files is a simple process. When first installing a SAN, migration of your existing backed up data is a priority. You are not limited to transferring your files in batches, as SAN migration is flexible enough to allow restoration of a single file if necessary.

There are two types of managed SAN. The first is a network which will transfer data between computers and storage devices. It provides physical connections to your storage device, and you are able to govern what files are able to be transferred and who has access to them via management software.

The second type of managed SAN is comprised of data storage devices, computer systems, management software and other storage elements, all communicating with each other via an Ethernet network to facilitate swift SAN migration of data.

What can a storage area network do for you?

If you contact our managed SAN experts at ControlCircle, we can give you advice specific to your business, but there are general benefits to be experienced for anyone looking to take advantage of storage area network. For a start, the SAN migration procedure is automated and so does not cause any disruption. All of your back ups are available online, and you are able to restore just a single file if the situation warrants. Your SAN migration system has full 24x7 technical support, and is a proven reliable and stable system. An off-site data storage solution such as this has no hardware depreciation or management overhead, and you only pay for the data you back up, thereby keeping your operating costs down.

 

ControlCircle has invested in NetApp technology for our own SANs and has these located in 8 Tier 3/4 datacentres globally. Clients can take from 1GB on a dedicated LUN on a dedicated aggregate up to petabytes of available storage on fibre or SATA disks. The choice between fibre and SATA depends on performance requirements. Connections are either iSCSI or fibre connections from HBAs in the servers to Brocade fibre switches.

 

SAN and NAS should be viewed as complementary rather than competing technologies and in many cases, businesses would benefit from both. Both SAN & NAS should be part of your storage network. NetApp fulfils requirements for the multiprotocol environment in one box where as other vendors may require different hardware for NAS and SAN.

 

To talk to a Storage Architect please call 0800 107 6769 or email storage@ControlCircle.com.

 

 

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