Preface by the Authors
This Preface answers the following main questions:
- What does this book deal with?
- Who should read this book?
- How should this book be read?
- Who has written this book?
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK DEAL WITH?
The technology of storage networks fundamentally changes the architecture of IT systems. In conventional IT systems, storage devices are connected to servers by means of SCSI cables. The idea behind storage networks is that these SCSI cables are replaced by a network, which is installed in addition to the existing LAN. Server and storage devices can exchange data over this new network using the SCSI protocol. Storage networks have long been a known quantity in the world of mainframes. Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCoE and Network Attached Storage (NAS) are now also taking storage networks into the field of Open Systems (Unix, Windows, OS/400, Novell Netware, MacOS).
Storage networks are a basic technology like databases and LANs. Storage was previously installed in the servers. Now most storage capacity is provided in external devices that are linked to servers over a storage network. As a result, anyone who is involved in the planning or operation of IT systems requires basic knowledge about the fundamentals and the use of storage networks. These networks are almost as widespread as SCSI, SAS and SATA but are more complex than LANs and TCP/IP.
The book is divided into two parts. Part I deals with fundamental technologies relating to storage networks. It guides the reader ...
