Storage area network server definition
A storage area network (SAN) server is a piece of hardware that allows multiple computers or servers to access a network of storage devices. It provides a shared pool of storage space and is used to move storage data traffic. Every computer on the storage area network can access the storage as though the storage was directly connected to it, thanks to storage area network servers. Storage area network servers are typically part of a larger network infrastructure that includes servers, storage devices, and other components
See also: shared storage, online data storage
Storage area network server examples
- Internet Small Computer System Interface. iSCSI uses the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) on TCP/IP networks to connect iSCSI storage to the iSCSI hosts. Most enterprises use this interface because it has a lower cost than FCP.
- Fibre Channel Protocol. FCP offers high-speed delivery of raw block data and uses the fiber channel network to send SCSI commands. It offers a loss-free way to transfer data between servers and computer storage.
- Fibre Channel over Ethernet. FCoE places the FCP on an Ethernet link – a physical link. It uses less hardware and has an easier installation process and management compared to traditional protocols.
- Non-Volatile Memory Express Over Fibre Channel. FC-NVMe is used to access flash storage via a PCI Express (PCIe) bus and offers much better performance than traditional all-flash architectures. It can handle thousands of parallel queues, and each queue can manage thousands of simultaneous commands.
