A storage area network (SAN) is a specialized, high-speed network that allows users to access the shared hard drives of a local network. It connects the servers to the shared storage pool and allows multiple servers to access the storage.

The shared storage pool is available to all servers as if they had a direct connection. With a storage area network, all servers on a LAN or WAN can share access to the same pool of storage devices. By eliminating the need for intermediate steps on the server side, SANs improve the efficiency of data transfer applications.

In this article, we'll look at 11 reasons why storage area networks are perfect for businesses.

1. Increased Disk Usage Efficiency:

Better disk utilization is possible with SAN. The IT administrator can do this by controlling everything from a single location, which is made possible by the centralized nature of the available storage. By splitting the central storage pool at the network level, additional resources can be distributed to the servers that need them most. Without a SAN, more drives would need to be installed, and more space created on the server to achieve the same goals. This would be a waste of money and storage space.

2. Security:

With the widespread use of data and other web-based applications in business operations, protecting them is necessary. The IT department's ability to restore operations after a catastrophic event can be critical. A SAN-based disaster recovery solution can guarantee faster recovery by prioritizing service from applications with the highest availability requirements. Data protection techniques tuned for maximum performance within the storage area network storage array guarantee data consistency.

3. Efficient Backup:

With a SAN, you can be confident that your data is always accessible and your transfers run smoothly. If one server fails, the other keeps things running smoothly. It also increases adaptability and streamlines management. This is primarily due to the need for individual cables and storage devices that must be physically moved. Both storage usage and efficiency are improved with SAN. SAN can be used to address the problem of a data protection solution being too sluggish to be useful.

4. Redundancy Disk:

The local redundancy provided by a SAN is another layer of protection for stored information. SAN uses a redundant disk array that appears to connect servers as a local volume. Compared to a NAS, this enables high availability and fast disk input/output performance (NAS). Storage Area Networks are a popular virtualization cluster that provides centralized access to databases with high I/O requirements.

5. Increased Bandwidth:

One of the most notable benefits of SANs is their increased bandwidth. Bandwidth bottlenecks are a common problem for local area network (LAN)-based server storage systems, slowing operations and increasing the time required for even routine operations. A SAN frees up your LAN's bandwidth by handling most of your network's traffic.

6. VSAN:

Integrating virtualization technology into the SAN was a natural choice as it enabled the virtualization of both storage and storage network resources and expanded the scalability and adaptability of the SAN. To create logical partitions or segments within the actual SAN, VSAN relies heavily on virtualization. This separation is useful for traditional VSANs because it allows for greater control over SAN network traffic, higher performance, and greater security. Thus, VSAN isolation can prevent problems in one SAN segment from affecting other SAN segments, and the segments can be conceptually changed as needed without affecting physical SAN components.

7. Unified Storage:

Unified storage is the ability of a storage area network to accommodate numerous storage methods, all using the same storage hardware. Unified Storage provides these capabilities by supporting many protocols simultaneously, both file-based (such as SMB and NFS) and block-based (such as FC and iSCSI). Users can leverage advanced features such as storage snapshots, data replication, storage tiering, data encryption, compression, and deduplication using a single storage platform for block and file storage

8. Data deduplication:

Data deduplication is a feature of a SAN that eliminates redundant copies of data. It can be used either as a post or inline process. In the post-process case, the process occurs after the data has been saved to the hard drive. It checks all information for duplication. It immediately deletes any duplicate data blocks it discovers. In contrast, the inline process acts as a filter in real-time. Before information is written to the disks, all instances of duplicates are checked and deleted.

9. Scalable for Business:

SAN offers significantly more scalability to adapt to changing business needs. Users can add additional drives if they need more storage space. Despite this limitation, a SAN can often install over a thousand disks.

Thanks to SAN, you can update your system anytime with little downtime.

10. SAN Switch:

The SAN switch is the brain of every SAN. It is a task to transfer information between servers and shared storage pools.

A SAN is created when many hosts, including storage servers and devices, are connected via a switch. You can make a simple SAN network with just a few switches. Connecting many switches to a SAN data center fabric is possible. The SAN fabric is a collection of SAN switches linked together in an active, intelligent, and non-shared manner.

11. FCoE Protocol:

FCoE is a protocol for transmitting FC packets over Ethernet. It has the potential to simplify and increase the adaptability of the SAN. It is a single device that can transport IP packets and storage data; therefore, it can replace separate switching systems for LANs and SANs. Converged networks refer to these types of implementations.

Bottom Line:

Storing information using a storage area network should be a simple procedure. You should assess your business's needs, evaluate available solutions, and select a storage network that meets those needs.

By creating a standalone, dedicated, highly scalable, high-performance network to connect large numbers of servers to various storage devices, SAN technology meets the complex storage needs of large enterprises.

11 Reasons Why Storage Area Network Is Crucial for Your Business