What is Storage Area Network (SAN) architecture?
Storage Area Network (SAN) architecture refers to the logical layout of a SAN infrastructure.
This architecture defines:
- How the SAN is logically created
- Components used
- Frameworks for storing and retrieving data
- Device / host interconnectivity
- Other parameters / components required for a SAN
There are two types of SAN architectures: a storage-centric SAN architecture and a network-centric SAN architecture.
A SAN generally consists of three core components; Therefore, the SAN architecture consists of:
Hosts: These are the systems / end devices that use the SAN services. This can include servers and computers on the network.
Fabric: This consists of the Fiber Channel and Host Bus Adapter interfaces, which enable the connection between the hosts and the SAN infrastructure.
Storage: These are the physical storage drives.
Typically, SAN architecture defines:
Storage pool and how it is shared between different servers or computers connected over the network
Type of network or data transmission connection used between the key SAN infrastructure and all connection nodes
Placement of data depending on the type of SAN architecture or topology
Type of SAN topology used
The SAN architecture also includes SAN management applications and the entire data storage, consumption, and retrieval policy that controls SAN resources.
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