Networking Bible

Chapter 15. Storage Networking

IN THIS CHAPTER

• The need for storage networks

• Different types of SANs

• Models for shared network storage

• Storage devices and services

• Fibre Channel storage networks

• Storage over IP technologies

Storage networks use a collection of technologies that share storage assets on the network. Storage I/O can represent a very large amount of data traffic, so there is a strong incentive to isolate storage traffic on its own dedicated network. This has led to the development of Storage Area Networks (SANs). Hubs, switches, routers, servers, disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes are among the many devices that you will find on a SAN. Storage network topologies can be direct attached, point-to-point, arbitrated loops, and fabrics.

A model is described that categorizes the architecture of shared network storage. This model naturally separates storage servers into block-oriented or file-oriented solutions. The model is extended for tape devices, and it will be shown how different network backups can be accommodated by the model, and how devices would be configured for these different scenarios.

The concepts behind separating physical disks from logical addresses are described. This separation allows storage to be easily virtualized. Aggregation is used to reassemble the data stored on disk into files and information that applications can use.

Fibre Channel is the dominant media connection technology used to create SANs. The Fibre Channel protocol, architecture, ...