Chapter3.Getting Down with Storage IO

Chapter 3. Getting Down with Storage I/O

Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to

• Participate in discussions and planning sessions regarding the requirements and design goals of storage network designs

• Identify all the various hardware, software, and networking components involved in I/O transmissions in a storage network

• Discuss the role of the operating system in I/O processes, including the difference between user space and kernel space operations and how they impact storage processes

It's difficult to understand the details of storage networking without understanding the big picture of how data gets from an application to storage media and back again. This chapter explores the basic requirements for storage I/O that create the operating environment and then steps through an end-to-end analysis of storage I/O processes in the I/O path. Having a basic understanding of fundamental I/O processes gives readers a context for understanding the details that follow in later chapters.