Chapter 9. Assessing Network Connectivity


Looking at the complete picture of local and remote storage solutions, network connectivity continues to play an increasingly larger role in the overall deployment. Resources are distributed ”requiring a network. Solutions must accommodate enormous scalability ”requiring a network. Also, business continuity mandates remote sites for backup and availability ”requiring a network. Fortunately, with IP and Ethernet “focused storage communication, both in data center installations and across MANs and WANs, much of the existing infrastructure can be used.

Network storage deployments combine both defensive and offensive thinking. On the defensive side, companies can protect data repositories using as much of the existing network infrastructure as possible, providing business continuity and higher asset utilization. On the offensive side, companies can focus future storage networking investments in line with other corporate data networking initiatives, realizing greater economies of scale with high-ticket items like bandwidth. Network consolidation also contributes significantly to reduced management cost by centralizing on common platforms.

Understanding the makeup of existing corporate data networking infrastructure allows storage architects to properly design systems involving local and remote network connectivity. Chapter 9 begins with an explanation of layered protocols and how those translate to use in storage networks. An outline of metropolitan- and wide-area storage networks follows to provide an understanding of the basic deployment models.

Since traditional storage networking products were separate from mainstream data networking products, a new category of products has emerged. These products bridge data center storage networking with metropolitan- and wide-area connectivity. However, as those lines blur, so do the products, and a number of separate platforms provide conversion features.

Chapter 9 also includes a description of bandwidth services offered by telecom providers. The last mile of connectivity has always been a challenge. However, there have been many recent advances to increase that segment of the network. Consumers have witnessed the change from dial-up modems to high-speed cable and DSL connections. Today, thousandfold bandwidth increases are available to companies for remote storage network bandwidth. Bottlenecks are shifting, and the resulting change in products and services requires that storage administrators take a closer look at new networking options.



IP Storage Networking Straight to the Core
IP Storage Networking: Straight to the Core
ISBN: 0321159608
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 108

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