Storage Area Network is a network of storage devices that are connected to each other and to a server, or cluster of servers, which act as an access point to the SAN. Storage area network management is gaining momentum in the SME segment. Many SMEs have deployed or are in the process of deploying packaged enterprise applications. And many of them are feeling the need for consolidation of resources through centralisation and control of these resources- primarily data and storage.
While NAS emerges as an ideal solution in a file-sharing environment, mission-critical applications are suited only for SAN. Building a storage area network SAN, involves centralised disks and tapes and they are connected to the servers on a separate fiber channel network, which help consolidate storage resources at block level, thus reducing the load on the production network. SAN's use special switches as a mechanism to connect the devices. These switches, which look a lot like a normal Ethernet networking switch, act as the connectivity point for SAN's. Making it possible for devices to communicate with each other on a separate network brings with it many advantages.
As more SMEs look at centralised enterprise applications like ERP, SCM, CRM, Data warehousing and Online Banking etc, SANs are proving popular. Organisations with large-scale data storage requirements and complex arsenals of storage devices can use SAN to create a more manageable and scalable environment. SAN requires careful planning and design due to its reliance on connectivity.