Chapter 2. The Storage Architectural Landscape

IP Storage Networking: Straight to the Core provides readers with an understanding of storage networking technologies as well as a roadmap to optimized deployment. In order to accomplish this mission, we need to closely examine the architectural landscape of data storage, specifically the hardware that makes up these ever-increasing capital investments. Through this understanding, we can effectively integrate the hardware decision-making process into overall objectives for utilization and efficiency, availability, and storage agility.

The information data storage repositories, from disk drives to multimillion-dollar dedicated "storage computers," reside at the edge of the overall infrastructure. These devices have grown in sophistication and complexity to the point that many new enterprise storage deployment budgets allocate more money for storage than for servers. Their importance cannot be underestimated as storage is freed from single-server restrictions.

Moving from the end storage devices, network connectivity comes into play, both in the form of Network-Attached Storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SANs). These complementary technologies, once physically restricted to two separate network domains, now converge with the introduction of IP storage networks (IP SANs). Appropriately managing the balance between NAS and SAN, from performance, to usability, to vendor-or-technology lock-in, requires an updated look at the origins and evolution of these architectures.

IP SANs entered the market in 2002 and represent the newest turbo boost into the overall storage equation. By merging still high-margin storage markets with dynamic networking markets (operating by different technology conventions), innovation, investment, and new product development flourish. Today's market offerings, from new storage networking hardware to new storage management software, provide more opportunities for rewriting the rules of data storage management than ever before.

This chapter outlines the architectural and technological basics to effectively approach SANs as a fundamental component of optimized storage deployment.