Foreword

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Storage Area Networks (SANs) and the related technologies are still in their infancies and continue to evolve . SANs originated as a result of the incredible demands for storage that have developed from the digital data explosion that we are experiencing. Ralph Thornburgh and Barry Schoenborn present a very comprehensive view of today s SANs, including technologies, environments, and solutions. In an ever-changing environment such as this, they have captured both the history and the most current information about Storage Area Networks.

The SAN world today is a very complex association of hardware and software components . It is a world of very few standards, many new devices, and demands for newer and better components. This book discusses the surrounding technologies, as well as the details of what a SAN is, how it is constructed , and why one would want to implement a SAN.

You will also read about managing the SAN. SAN management software is the initial software application that will lead to many other value-added services that will add intelligence to the SAN. SAN backup and restore is also discussed. This is the initial solution that is a harbinger of myriad solutions that will begin to appear as a result of the added functionalities and capabilities that SAN architecture and SAN technologies uniquely enable.

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about or is considering adopting this technology. It has been designed in such a way as to be useful to neophytes, or as a reference book to those experienced with SANs.

Charles Trentacosti, Marketing Manager
Hewlett-Packard s Software and SAN Management Operation

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