Chapter 8. IP SAN
Traditional SAN environments allow block I/O over Fibre Channel, whereas NAS environments allow file I/O over IP-based networks. Organizations need the performance and scalability of SAN plus the ease of use and lower TCO of NAS solutions. The emergence of IP technology that supports block I/O over IP has positioned IP for storage solutions.
IP offers easier management and better interoperability. When block I/O is run over IP, the existing network infrastructure can be leveraged, which is more economical than investing in new SAN hardware and software. Many long-distance, disaster recovery (DR) solutions are already leveraging IP-based networks. In addition, many robust and mature security options are now available for IP networks. With the advent of block storage technology that leverages IP networks (the result is often referred to as IP SAN), organizations can extend the geographical reach of their storage infrastructure.
IP SAN technologies can be used in a variety of situations. Figure 8-1 illustrates the co-existence of FC and IP storage technologies in an organization where mission-critical applications are serviced through FC, and business-critical applications and remote office applications make use of IP SAN. Disaster recovery solutions can also be implemented using both of these technologies.
Two primary protocols that leverage IP as the transport mechanism are iSCSI and Fibre Channel over ...
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