Do you want to benefit your Company by using an efficient Storage Network ? If yes, then read the Article to know more about SAN (Storage Area Network) and how it benefits Businesses and Organizations.

A Storage Area Network (SAN) is a group of Storage Devices that are used by large-scale companies to execute Business Applications and tasks. It interconnects and links storage systems to different Servers. Also, it accelerates the Storage Facilities as it is a collection of several Computer Systems that are linked together. If there is a disruption, it creates an alternate path by minimizing the workload.

Features of SAN

Handles Disasters and Incidents

A Storage Area Network leads to increased Data protection and ensures Security. It helps in Business Continuity Management Activities such as handling crises, dealing with disasters and facing incidents. It can also withstand Storage failures and improper coordination.

Made up of Switches and Hosts

A SAN includes Switches, Hosts and Storage Devices that are interlinked with different Technologies and Protocols. It is made using a Fibre Channel Technology that consists of a Fibre Channel Protocol for maintaining the processes.

Manages Storage Networks

There are many advantages of using a SAN for an extensive area of interlinked storage devices. It helps manage central storage networks and makes up two-thirds of the data network storage systems.

Used in different Databases

Many Databases such as Oracle, Microsoft Server and large virtual Desktop Infrastructures use SAN.

Ways in which SAN is good for Companies

A Storage Area Network (SAN) helps IT Companies and Businesses flourish and manage their Data effectively. This is available on their Storage Systems 24/7 and can be accessed by anyone within the Organization.

Withstands Hardware Failure : The Storage Area Network (SAN) provides an efficient system for managing Servers. It provides Data to everyone in the Company and can withstand Hardware failures.

Costly and has a complex Installation Process : It comes at a high price and can be installed in a complex process that requires Manpower Support. Not only is it more intricate than the Network attached Storage but also more durable and provides good Storage and Data Management facilities.

Effective Data Management : It is tailored to a specific Business environment and consists of Networking Switches, Software and Devices. The advanced set of features and the spot-on technology used in SAN helps manage Data better. The system of keeping files is managed by the Servers in SAN.

Can manage various Servers : Numerous Servers can be attached to a SAN. there is no such limit that can be fixed to it. It works well on a virtualization technique. Also, the capacity of the SAN is more than 1012 Bytes.

Uniformly distributes the Storage Facility : It can distribute the Storage facilities uniformly across the Organization. Also, it reconnects the Storage Devices that leads to a centraized Administration and reduces the cost of Ownership.

Provides Data Security : It offers optimum Data Security. One could use an Access Control List in the Switches to allow authenticated Users to join the Network. One would always get access to Data and the Applications that are necessary for the Users.

Offers a Fixed Place of Storage : A Storage Area Network (SAN) has all the Servers interconnected through Switches. It does not involve Switching Devices to another place. One can also add more Storage Devices to SAN according to the needs of the Company.

Has a dynamic protection facility : The protection feature keeps the Servers functioning for a long period of time. While doing any Maintenance work, the Storage Network will always be present.

Offers a Smooth Transfer of Data : It allows a smooth Data transferring process with no intervention from the Server. Besides this, it lets multiple hosts get access to a variety of Storage Devices that are connected to the same Networlk. All the Data is stored on SAN which allows the system to get access to Data of the Servers and the Storage Devices.

Provides an Increased Disk Utilization : A SAN provides improved Disk utilization facilities by reducing the number of Drives and Disks. Apart from this, it recognizes the Data by the Disk block. It reduces the cost needed to operate different Storage Devices and Systems.

Provides Advanced backup Facilities : A SAN can be used for an ideal Data backup and is preferred when the Company or an Organization faces a long backup time. It has the potential to produce similar Data within a Business Environment. Also, it has streamlined IT Administrator System that improves the backup facilities. It uses the block-by-block technique for backup and recovery.

Manages Storage Disasters : A SAN can link many locations to Storage Systems. This helps to protect the Data if it gets destroyed by the local storage devices. Through a SAN, Data can be safely transferred to the main location. It replicates the Data and offers a useful disaster recovery technique.

Has a High-speed Data Retrieval process : A Storage Area Network (SAN) can help retrieve data at a great speed that surpasses 5G. Essentially, it is one of the fastest Data-transferring Technologies to date.

Benefits Of Choosing A SAN

Improved Disk UtilizationPerhaps the greatest advantage of a SAN is its improved disk utilization. Direct attached storage (DAS) utilizes around 30% of the disk while SAN improves on that with around 80%. Greater utilization decreases the number of disks and drives needed, reducing the entire cost associated with storage devices and systems.Less Backup TimeSANs are the best solution whenever a company is faced with extensive backup time within an enterprise or data storage environment. SANs have a unique ability to duplicate data almost instantly, making them ideal for data backup.Centralized BackupBlock level, incremental backups, and streamlined IT system administrator responsibilities are a few special features provided by SAN to improve the backup process.Disaster RecoverySAN provides the capability to connect distant locations to secondary storage arrays. This helps protect data if a localized disaster destroys local data storage devices. When data is duplicated with SAN, it enables faster recovery for an organization; the data is preserved offsite and just needs to be transferred back over to the main location.RedundancySimilar to the above-mentioned disaster recovery advantage, SAN also protects data through local redundancy. A redundant array of disks is used by SAN and is viewed as a local volume from the servers that are attached to it. This allows for high availability with fast disk input/output performance when compared to a Network Area Storage (NAS). SAN’s are among the common virtualization clusters giving out centralized access to databases that are heavily input/output intensive.High-Speed Disk TechnologiesSAN provides data retrieval at speeds surpassing 5 Gbps.

Interesting Trivia

The SAN Market has made a lot of Money and has expanded its Business. It has made $17.82 Billion in the past years.

Interestingly, North America has had a share of 36.8% in the Market. In the areas of America and Canada, Cloud Computing has also gained popularity along with the use of SAN.

To sum it up, a Storage Area network (SAN) offers an efficient storage system that interlinks different Computers and Servers. It has been widely used by the IT Industries and different Businesses to accelerate Data Management and provide accessibility. It can minimize the workload by tackling technology disasters and offering solutions such as advanced backup facilities.