O'Reilly logo

Stay ahead with the world's most comprehensive technology and business learning platform.

With Safari, you learn the way you learn best. Get unlimited access to videos, live online training, learning paths, books, tutorials, and more.

Start Free Trial

No credit card required

Storage Area Network Fundamentals

Storage Area Network Fundamentals

by Meeta Gupta
Publisher: Cisco Press
Release Date: April 2002
ISBN: 158705065X
View table of contents
Start reading

Book Description

A guide to planning, implementing, managing, and using storage area networks to increase the efficiency of your network infrastructure

  • Gain in-depth coverage of SAN fundamentals, topologies, implementation and management techniques, and products

  • Build and sharpen your troubleshooting skills for data-mining, online transaction processing, imaging, data warehousing, and other highly data-intensive applications

  • Understand how to implement the Fibre Channel and iSCSI protocols, which are key to any SAN solution

  • Learn current industry implementation and application standards, as well as future advances

    • During the last decade, a multitude of changes in computing technology and the globalization of business through the Internet have resulted in a tremendous growth in storage requirements. This has forced many organizations around the world to reassess the way they view their storage environment. Many applications, such as e-commerce, imaging, data warehousing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), fill storage media quickly. Data accessibility and availability for these applications has to be fast and efficient. Clearly, the ever-increasing information access requirements have had a profound effect on most data centers. As a result, many organizations are searching for cost-effective ways to ensure high data availability and reliability.

    Storage Area Network Fundamentals presents the benefits of storage area networks (SANs) to corporate users and enables them to deploy SAN technology effectively. Designed as an introduction to SANs, Storage Area Network Fundamentals develops an understanding of SAN basics and shows how to plan, implement, and manage a SAN. This book covers the topologies, protocols, and products required to implement and manage efficient SANs.

    Table of Contents

    1. Copyright
      1. Dedication
    2. About the Author
      1. About the Technical Reviewers
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. Introduction
      1. Goals and Methods
      2. Who Should Read This Book?
      3. How This Book Is Organized
    5. 1. Networking and Storage Concepts
      1. Basic Networking Concepts and Topologies
        1. OSI Reference Model
          1. Physical Layer
          2. Data-Link Layer
          3. Network Layer
          4. Transport Layer
          5. Session Layer
          6. Presentation Layer
          7. Application Layer
        2. Common Network Devices
          1. Media Connectors
          2. NICs
          3. Repeaters
          4. Hubs
          5. Modems
          6. Bridges
          7. Routers
          8. Brouters
        3. Network Topologies
          1. Bus Topology
          2. Star Topology
          3. Ring Topology
          4. Mesh Topology
        4. MAC Standards
          1. Contention
          2. Token Passing
          3. Polling
      2. The Need for Storage Networks
      3. Storage Devices and Techniques
        1. CD Storage and Libraries
        2. DVD Storage and Libraries
        3. Disk Storage Systems
        4. Disk Arrays
        5. Tape Libraries and Subsystems
      4. NAS and SAN
        1. NAS Devices
          1. Advantages and Disadvantages of NAS Devices
        2. SANs
        3. NAS Versus SANs
      5. SAN Standard Organizations
      6. Summary
    6. 2. Introduction to Storage Area Networks
      1. Evolution and Benefits of SANs
      2. SAN Components and Building Blocks
        1. SAN Servers
        2. SAN Storage
        3. SAN Interfaces
        4. SAN Interconnects
          1. Cables
          2. Connectors
          3. Adapters
          4. Extenders
          5. Hubs
          6. Bridges and Multiplexors
          7. Routers
          8. Gateways
          9. Switches
        5. SAN Software
      3. Data Access over SANs
      4. Summary
    7. 3. Fibre Channel Basics
      1. Overview of Fibre Channel Technology
        1. Advantages of the Fibre Channel Technology
      2. Fibre Channel Ports
      3. Fibre Channel Topologies
        1. Point-to-Point Topology
        2. FC-AL Topology
        3. Switched Fabric Topology
      4. Fibre Channel Layers
        1. FC-0 Layer
          1. Open Fibre Control
        2. FC-1 Layer
          1. Character Conversion and Coding Rules
          2. Error Detection
          3. Byte Synchronization and Data Alignment
          4. Link Maintenance
        3. FC-2 Layer
          1. Ordered Sets
          2. Frames
          3. Sequence
          4. Exchange
        4. FC-3 Layer
        5. FC-4 Layer
      5. Classes of Service
        1. Class 1
          1. Class 1 Flow Control
        2. Class 2
          1. Class 2 Flow Control
        3. Class 3
          1. Class 3 Flow Control
        4. Class 4
          1. Class 4 Flow Control
        5. Class 5
        6. Class 6
      6. Summary
    8. 4. Fibre Channel Products
      1. HBAs
      2. Fibre Channel Connectors
        1. GBICs
        2. GLMs
        3. Transceivers
        4. MIAs
      3. Hubs
        1. Unmanaged Hubs
        2. Managed Hubs
        3. Switched Hubs
      4. Switches
        1. Types of Switches
        2. Catalyst 6000 Family Switches
        3. Catalyst 4000 Family Switches
        4. Fibre Channel Switches Versus Hubs
          1. Shared Bandwidth
          2. Network Population
          3. Services
          4. Security
          5. Future Growth Potential
      5. Bridges
      6. Routers
        1. Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router
        2. Cisco 7200 Series Internet Routers
        3. Cisco 7600 Series Routers
      7. Storage Devices
        1. Disk Arrays
        2. JBOD
        3. Tape Libraries and Subsystems
        4. Storage Servers
      8. Summary
    9. 5. Fibre Channel Cabling
      1. Copper-Based Cabling
        1. Copper GBICs
        2. Media Interface Adapters
      2. Fiber-Optic Cabling
        1. Types of Fiber-Optic Cables
          1. Multimode Fiber-Optic Cables
          2. Single-Mode, Fiber-Optic Cables
        2. Fiber-Optic Connectors
        3. Planning and Implementing Fiber-Optic Cables
          1. Fiber-Optic Cabling Considerations
          2. Fiber-Optic Cabling Recommendations
        4. Advantages of Fiber-Optic Cabling
        5. Types of Fiber-Optic Cabling
          1. Jumper Cabling
          2. Structured Cabling
      3. Summary
    10. 6. SAN Topologies
      1. Point-to-Point Topology
        1. Extending Point-to-Point Connections
      2. FC-AL Topology
        1. Types of FC-AL Loops
        2. States of FC-AL Loops
          1. The Loop Initialization State
          2. The Loop Monitoring State
          3. The Loop Arbitration State
          4. The Open Loop State
          5. The Close Loop State
        3. Loop Addressing
        4. Loop Logins
        5. Extending the Loop
      3. Switched Fabric Topology
        1. Switched Fabric Addressing Scheme
        2. Switched Fabric Switching
        3. Fabric Services
        4. Segmenting the Switched Fabric
          1. Zoning
          2. LUN Masking
        5. Extending the Fabric
      4. Summary
    11. 7. Designing and Building a SAN
      1. SAN Design Considerations
        1. Business Requirements
        2. Performance
        3. Physical Layout of the Storage Network
        4. Placement of Storage Systems
        5. Storage Pooling
        6. Data Availability
        7. Heterogeneity
        8. Future Storage Requirements
        9. Connectivity
        10. Scalability
        11. Migration
        12. Manageability
        13. Fault Tolerance and Resilience
        14. Prevention of Congestion
        15. Routability
        16. Backup and Restore
        17. Security
      2. Designing a SAN
        1. Selecting the Appropriate Topology
        2. Selecting SAN Components
      3. Constructing a SAN
      4. SAN Best Practices
        1. SAN Design Best Practices
        2. SAN Construction Best Practices
      5. Summary
    12. 8. Implementing SAN Security
      1. General Security Guidelines
        1. Controlling Physical Access to the SAN and Its Components
        2. Implementing Passwords
        3. Disabling the Web Browser Management Interface
        4. Disabling Remote Management
        5. Implementing Fiber-Optic Cables
        6. Implementing Perimeter Security
        7. Securing In-Transit Data
        8. Implementing the Administration Policy
        9. Restricting Access to Multiple Storage Systems
        10. Choosing a Reliable Service Provider
        11. Analyzing Vulnerability
        12. Implementing the Management Policy
      2. Securing a SAN
        1. Securing SAN Components
          1. Securing the SAN Fabric
          2. Securing Storage Systems
        2. Software-Based Security Measures
      3. Securing Business Environments
        1. Divisional Security
        2. Enterprise Security
      4. Summary
    13. 9. Problem Isolation and Management of SANs
      1. Isolating and Troubleshooting Problems
        1. Physical Connectivity Problems
        2. Storage Access Problems
        3. Upper-Level Protocol Problems
      2. Managing SANs
        1. Network Management
        2. Storage Resource Management
        3. Data Management
        4. Performance Management
        5. SAN Management Tool Features
      3. Disaster Management
        1. Traditional Backup and Restoration
        2. SAN Backup and Restoration
          1. SAN Backup and Restoration Models
      4. Summary
    14. 10. iSCSI Technology
      1. The Emergence of iSCSI Technology
        1. Problems Faced by Fibre Channel Technology
        2. IETF
      2. iSCSI Concepts
        1. SCSI—An Overview
        2. iSCSI Basics
        3. iSCSI Protocol Stack
        4. iSCSI Packet Format
        5. iSCSI-Based Network and Its Components
          1. Bridging Fibre Channel to iSCSI
        6. iSCSI Data Exchange and Encapsulation
        7. iSCSI Naming and Addressing Scheme
          1. iSCSI Names
          2. iSCSI Addresses
        8. iSCSI Sessions and Data Transfers
          1. Login Phase
          2. Text-Mode Negotiation Phase
          3. Full-Feature Phase
          4. iSCSI Connection Termination Phase
        9. iSCSI Ordering and Numbering
      3. iSCSI Design Considerations and Security Requirements
        1. iSCSI—The Challenges
      4. Summary
    15. 11. Future of SANs
      1. The Need for Change
      2. SAN Technology Development
        1. OSN
        2. IP SANs
        3. Storage Service Providers
      3. Non-SAN Technologies
        1. SoIP
        2. NDMP
        3. FCIP
        4. iFCP
        5. DAFS
          1. VI
          2. InfiniBand Architecture
      4. Summary
    16. A. RAID Technology and Fibre Channel Vendors
      1. RAID Level 0
      2. RAID Level 1
      3. RAID Level 2
      4. RAID Level 3
      5. RAID Level 4
      6. RAID Level 5
      7. Fibre Channel Vendors
    17. Glossary