A dedicated, fast network that gives storage devices network access is called a StorageAreaNetwork (SAN). SANs are generally made up of several technologies, topologies, and protocols that are used to connect hosts, switches, storage elements, and storage devices.
A SAN typically is a dedicated network of storage devices not accessible through the local areanetwork (LAN). Although a SAN provides only block-level access, file systems built on top of SANs do provide file-level access and are known as shared-disk file systems.
A storageareanetworkprotocol is a type of connection that determines how devices and switches communicate with each other within a SAN fabric. A SAN can use one protocol or many.
There are several storagenetworkprotocols to choose from, including iSCSI, Fibre Channel and NVMe over Fabric. Review the performance, reliability, complexity and cost of each before deciding which one to use.
SANs provide any-to-any connectivity for servers and storage devices using Fibre Channel (FC) switches that are compatible with the FC protocol. FC SAN switches are used to connect devices within a SAN to create the SAN fabric.
In short, a StorageAreaNetwork (SAN) is a fast network that gives multiple servers access to block-level storage. It is great for speed, scalability, and easy management. SANs let multiple servers share storage devices, unlike Direct Attached Storage (DAS) where each server has its own.