A storage area network (SAN) is a specialised high-speed network or subnetwork that connects many servers and presents shared pools of storage devices.
For enterprise computing, storage availability and accessibility are significant problems. Traditional direct-attached disc installations within individual servers can be a simple and low-cost choice for many enterprise applications, but the discs — and the essential data they hold — are connected to the physical server via a specific link, such as SAS. Modern workplace computing frequently necessitates far more organisation, flexibility, and control.
A distinct, dedicated, highly scalable high-performance network designed to interface a number of servers to an array of storage devices is provided by SAN technology, which fulfils advanced business storage demands. After that, the storage can be arranged and handled as tiers or pools. When compared to traditional direct-attached storage, a SAN allows an organisation to treat storage as a single collective resource that can be centrally replicated and protected, while additional technologies like data deduplication and RAID can optimise storage capacity and vastly improve storage resilience (DAS).
