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For years, the business advantages of SANs (Storage Area Networks) have been well-known to Global 2000 organizations. SANs have allowed large companies to:
- Improve application performance and availability.
- Reduce hardware and management costs.
- Increase overall storage capacity.
Unfortunately, high component prices and complex deployments have kept these benefits well out of reach for most small to medium businesses.
Now SANs are for everyone!
Beginning this summer, the affordable, easy-to-install line of SAN Express™ products lets companies of ALL sizes enjoy the power and profitability of a SAN.
The Basics: What is a SAN?
A SAN is a network for sharing high-performance storage hardware such as disk drive arrays (RAID) and tape backup libraries across multiple servers and workstations.
What will a SAN do for your company?
SANs represent more than a technology choice. They are a strategic business direction that will help you save money and out-plan your competition by gaining control over the IT variables that matter most.
- Control costs – Why buy more servers when all you really need is disk space? Unlike older direct-attached topologies, SANs separate "capacity" from "processing power," allowing you to scale storage or servers independently at exactly the right time.
- Control resource utilization – DAS holds storage captive to individual servers. SANs let you create centralized storage pools, maximizing the return on every disk and tape investment. No more wasted capacity -- get more value from what you already own!
- Control availability – Eliminate downtime for critical applications such as email. Flexible SAN topologies provide as much resilience as you need.
- Control everything...globally, automatically – Why configure storage on a server-by-server basis? SAN management software provides a single intelligent dashboard from which all resources can be allocated and monitored…and from which daily tasks such as backup can be easily automated.
Sounds great! What do I need to get started?
SANs typically include the following components:
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Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) – You'll need one for every server you plan to attach to the SAN. Similar to Ethernet NICs, HBAs let your servers speak Fibre Channel, the protocol of choice for networked storage. |
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Fibre Channel switch – Simply plug in your storage and HBA-equipped servers. Configuration wizards handle the rest. |
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Fibre Channel cables and SFPs – Optical media offers state-of-the-art transmission rates and distance spans up to 10 km. |
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SAN management software – A single-tool management of your entire SAN. "Plug and dust" automation with granular control options. |
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Fibre Channel-enabled storage – New low-cost RAIDs and tape drives are now available from IQSS. |
See also:
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