What is a Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)? A modular SAN solution focuses on an agile, scalable, robust architecture that can be deployed quickly and easily and that is cost-effective without causing any compromise in speed or performance. There are many modular SAN solutions on the market today that can fit the needs of any business - small, medium, or large.
When evaluating modular storage area networks, the PeerSpot users emphasized several key components. First and foremost, the SAN must be easy to integrate into the existing infrastructure and include interoperability with the different platforms it will be connecting with. In the same vein, quality modular SANs must be easy to use and manage for admins and users, and should be built with a basic interface that anyone can operate. Secondly, reliability is important, along with IOPS capacity, throughput, and flexibility to allow for spinners and flash storage capacity. Finally, good pricing was a strong concern for many of the users.
A NAS (network attached storage) is a single simple device that sends data via ethernet. NAS is very basic, extremely simple, and cost-effective. A NAS grants data storage access to other devices on the network and provides for an uncomplicated way for numerous users from different areas to access data. This is particularly beneficial when users are regularly sharing information back and forth on the same network. NAS basic structure makes it very easy for a non-technical person to manage all the network processes. NAS is a great fit for a home office or small business that requires a greater ability to share data with better integrity and be available 24/7. NAS is very good for sharing small files, but can become easily overloaded and stressed when sharing larger files, such as photos, audio, or video. When a NAS can no longer easily handle such heavy network traffic flow, many organizations make the decision to switch to SAN. SAN (storage area network) operates with a combination of several servers and can handle all those significantly higher traffic flows and increasingly heavier data loads much easier.
When you need high-performance, low-latency shared access, it is time to make the step up to SAN. SAN is the most highly recommended option for sharing large files safely to the greatest number of users without causing any performance issues. SAN is typically used by large corporations or enterprises and generally requires an administrative team or IT staff to manage. SAN is extremely desirable in today's work and even in some home environments where many users are collaborating and editing graphic, photo, video, and music files on a regular and consistent daily basis.
Instead of a single device, you get a combination of servers with high speed and low latency. SAN can also have fiber channel connections to consistently ensure the fastest possible speed, delivery, security, and overall performance. By using a fiber channel, data is rerouted around the TCP/IP packetization and reduces any latency concerns, resolving congestion issues with the network. SAN keeps data exchanges across servers continually running smoothly and quickly. Some configurations may also have a private separate ethernet network to keep those servers running even more smoothly and keep traffic away from the primary fiber channel network, resulting in an even greater overall performance. SAN is extraordinarily robust, agile, and extremely flexible and can handle the huge amounts of compute and data sharing needed in today's busy dynamic digital environment.
The speed of the NAS is primarily dependent on the local TCP/IP ethernet network (generally between 1GB and 10GB) and is deeply affected by the number of users, types of files they are sharing, and amount of storage they are using. NAS is consistently slower due to slow throughput caused by the general nature of ethernet packetization, slower file servers, and overall common latency issues. SAN is very high-speed when using a fiber channel, it is most commonly available from 16GB to 32GB. Additionally, the fiber channel can use a high-speed ethernet, such as 10GB to 40+GB networks, and using protocols such as FCoE and iSCSI make the overall performance even faster.
