CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Storage area network - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"4a6795b8-f99a-4682-808f-5babb9808ecb","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Storage_area_network","wgTitle":"Storage area network","wgCurRevisionId":1250385837,"wgRevisionId":1250385837,"wgArticleId":20444608,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Use dmy dates from May 2022","Use American English from July 2020","All Wikipedia articles written in American English","Webarchive template wayback links","Data management","Telecommunications engineering","Storage area networks"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Storage_area_network","wgRelevantArticleId": 20444608,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":20000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q237576","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true, "wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init", "ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.15"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/1200px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/800px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="800"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/640px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="640"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Storage area network - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Storage_area_network rootpage-Storage_area_network skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" title="Main menu" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Storage+area+network" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Storage+area+network" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Storage+area+network" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Storage+area+network" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Storage_architectures" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Storage_architectures"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Storage architectures</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Storage_architectures-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Components" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Components"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Components</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Components-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Components subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Components-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Host_layer" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Host_layer"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Host layer</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Host_layer-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Fabric_layer" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Fabric_layer"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Fabric layer</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Fabric_layer-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Storage_layer" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Storage_layer"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Storage layer</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Storage_layer-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Network_protocols" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Network_protocols"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Network protocols</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Network_protocols-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Software" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Software"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Software</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Software-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Filesystems_support" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Filesystems_support"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Filesystems support</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Filesystems_support-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-In_media_and_entertainment" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#In_media_and_entertainment"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>In media and entertainment</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-In_media_and_entertainment-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Quality_of_service" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quality_of_service"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Quality of service</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quality_of_service-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Storage_virtualization" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Storage_virtualization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Storage virtualization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Storage_virtualization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Storage area network</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 33 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-33" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">33 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A8%D9%83%D8%A9_%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86" title="شبكة تخزين – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="شبكة تخزين" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B0_%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%8A%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8" title="Мрежа за съхранение на данни – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Мрежа за съхранение на данни" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network" title="Storage Area Network – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Storage Area Network" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network" title="Storage Area Network – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Storage Area Network" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network" title="Storage Area Network – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Storage Area Network" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvestiv%C3%B5rk" title="Salvestivõrk – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Salvestivõrk" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_de_%C3%A1rea_de_almacenamiento" title="Red de área de almacenamiento – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Red de área de almacenamiento" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAN" title="SAN – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="SAN" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A8%DA%A9%D9%87_%D8%B0%D8%AE%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C" title="شبکه ذخیره‌سازی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="شبکه ذخیره‌سازی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9seau_de_stockage_SAN" title="Réseau de stockage SAN – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Réseau de stockage SAN" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%8A%A4%ED%86%A0%EB%A6%AC%EC%A7%80_%EC%97%90%EC%96%B4%EB%A6%AC%EC%96%B4_%EB%84%A4%ED%8A%B8%EC%9B%8C%ED%81%AC" title="스토리지 에어리어 네트워크 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="스토리지 에어리어 네트워크" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9C_%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95" title="स्टोरेज एरिया नेटवर्क – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="स्टोरेज एरिया नेटवर्क" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAN" title="SAN – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="SAN" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaringan_area_penyimpanan" title="Jaringan area penyimpanan – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Jaringan area penyimpanan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network" title="Storage Area Network – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Storage Area Network" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAN" title="SAN – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="SAN" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kn mw-list-item"><a href="https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9F%E0%B3%8B%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%87%E0%B2%9C%E0%B3%8D_%E0%B2%8F%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%BE_%E0%B2%A8%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%9F%E0%B3%8D%E2%80%8C%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%95%E0%B3%8D" title="ಸ್ಟೋರೇಜ್ ಏರಿಯಾ ನೆಟ್‌ವರ್ಕ್ – Kannada" lang="kn" hreflang="kn" data-title="ಸ್ಟೋರೇಜ್ ಏರಿಯಾ ನೆಟ್‌ವರ್ಕ್" data-language-autonym="ಕನ್ನಡ" data-language-local-name="Kannada" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ಕನ್ನಡ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D0%BC%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B5" title="Реонско мрежно складиште – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Реонско мрежно складиште" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ml mw-list-item"><a href="https://ml.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B4%B8%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%87%E0%B4%9C%E0%B5%8D_%E0%B4%8F%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%AF_%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%86%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%8D%E2%80%8C%E2%80%8C%E0%B4%B5%E0%B5%BC%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8D" title="സ്റ്റോറേജ് ഏരിയ നെറ്റ്‌‌വർക്ക് – Malayalam" lang="ml" hreflang="ml" data-title="സ്റ്റോറേജ് ഏരിയ നെറ്റ്‌‌വർക്ക്" data-language-autonym="മലയാളം" data-language-local-name="Malayalam" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>മലയാളം</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network" title="Storage area network – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Storage area network" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8D%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF" title="ストレージエリアネットワーク – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ストレージエリアネットワーク" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pms mw-list-item"><a href="https://pms.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAN" title="SAN – Piedmontese" lang="pms" hreflang="pms" data-title="SAN" data-language-autonym="Piemontèis" data-language-local-name="Piedmontese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Piemontèis</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network" title="Storage Area Network – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Storage Area Network" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rede_de_%C3%A1rea_de_armazenamento" title="Rede de área de armazenamento – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Rede de área de armazenamento" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C_%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85" title="Сеть хранения данных – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Сеть хранения данных" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network" title="Storage area network – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Storage area network" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network" title="Storage area network – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Storage area network" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagringsn%C3%A4t" title="Lagringsnät – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Lagringsnät" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81_%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81" title="சேமிப்பு பரப்பு வலையமைப்பு – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="சேமிப்பு பரப்பு வலையமைப்பு" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network" title="Storage area network – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Storage area network" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B0_%D0%B7%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%96%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F_%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%85" title="Мережа зберігання даних – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Мережа зберігання даних" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BA%A1ng_khu_v%E1%BB%B1c_l%C6%B0u_tr%E1%BB%AF" title="Mạng khu vực lưu trữ – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Mạng khu vực lưu trữ" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%98%E5%82%A8%E5%8C%BA%E5%9F%9F%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C" title="存储区域网络 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="存储区域网络" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q237576#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Storage_area_network" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Storage_area_network" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Storage_area_network"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Storage_area_network"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Storage_area_network" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Storage_area_network" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&oldid=1250385837" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Storage_area_network&id=1250385837&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStorage_area_network"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStorage_area_network"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Storage_area_network&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Storage_area_networks" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q237576" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Network which provides access to consolidated, block-level data storage</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Network-attached_storage" title="Network-attached storage">network-attached storage</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1246091330">.mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:22em;float:right;clear:right;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.2em;text-align:center;line-height:1.4em;font-size:88%;border-collapse:collapse;display:table}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:table!important;float:right!important;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em!important}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-subgroup{width:100%;margin:0;border-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-none{float:none;clear:both;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-outer-title{padding:0 0.4em 0.2em;font-size:125%;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-image{padding:0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-caption,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-caption{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle{padding:0.4em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.2em 0.8em;font-size:145%;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-image{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-heading{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content{padding:0 0.5em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding:0.1em 0.4em 0.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-below{padding:0.3em 0.8em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-below{border-top:1px solid #aaa;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-navbar{text-align:right;font-size:115%;padding:0 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6em;font-size:105%}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title-c{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:center;margin:0 3.3em}@media(max-width:640px){body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title" style="background:#ccccff;font-size: 120%"><a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">Computer network</a> types<br />by scale</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/150px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/225px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg/300px-Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="text-align: left"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nanonetwork" title="Nanonetwork">Nanoscale</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Near-field_communication" title="Near-field communication">Near-field (NFC)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Body_area_network" title="Body area network">Body</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Personal_area_network" title="Personal area network">Personal (PAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Near-me_area_network" title="Near-me area network">Near-me</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Local_area_network" title="Local area network">Local (LAN)</a> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Storage (SAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wireless_LAN" title="Wireless LAN">Wireless (WLAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/VLAN" title="VLAN">Virtual (VLAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Home_network" title="Home network">Home (HAN)</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Campus_network" title="Campus network">Campus (CAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Backbone_network" title="Backbone network">Backbone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_area_network" title="Metropolitan area network">Metropolitan (MAN)</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Municipal_wireless_network" title="Municipal wireless network">Municipal wireless (MWN)</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wide_area_network" title="Wide area network">Wide (WAN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet_area_network" title="Internet area network">Cloud</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_Internet" title="Interplanetary Internet">Interplanetary Internet</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Area_networks" title="Template:Area networks"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Area_networks" title="Template talk:Area networks"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Area_networks" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Area networks"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox" style="width:20em; font-size:94%;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="background-color: #adb;"><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel" title="Fibre Channel">Fibre Channel</a></th></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #cfc;">Layer 4. Protocol mapping</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/wiki/Logical_Unit_Number_Masking" class="mw-redirect" title="Logical Unit Number Masking">LUN masking</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #cfc;">Layer 3. Common services</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #cfc;">Layer 2. Network</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_fabric" class="mw-redirect" title="Fibre Channel fabric">Fibre Channel fabric</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_zoning" title="Fibre Channel zoning">Fibre Channel zoning</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Registered_state_change_notification" title="Registered state change notification">Registered state change notification</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #cfc;">Layer 1. Data link</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_8b/10b_encoding" class="mw-redirect" title="Fibre Channel 8b/10b encoding">Fibre Channel 8b/10b encoding</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #cfc;">Layer 0. Physical</th></tr></tbody></table> <p>A <b>storage area network</b> (<b>SAN</b>) or <b>storage network</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">computer network</a> which provides access to consolidated, <a href="/wiki/Block_device" class="mw-redirect" title="Block device">block-level data storage</a>. SANs are primarily used to access <a href="/wiki/Computer_data_storage" title="Computer data storage">data storage</a> devices, such as <a href="/wiki/Disk_array" title="Disk array">disk arrays</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tape_libraries" class="mw-redirect" title="Tape libraries">tape libraries</a> from <a href="/wiki/Server_(computing)" title="Server (computing)">servers</a> so that the devices appear to the <a href="/wiki/Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating system</a> as <a href="/wiki/Direct-attached_storage" title="Direct-attached storage">direct-attached storage</a>. A SAN typically is a dedicated network of storage devices not accessible through the <a href="/wiki/Local_area_network" title="Local area network">local area network</a> (LAN). </p><p>Although a SAN provides only block-level access, <a href="/wiki/File_systems" class="mw-redirect" title="File systems">file systems</a> built on top of SANs do provide file-level access and are known as <a href="/wiki/Shared-disk_file_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Shared-disk file system">shared-disk file systems</a>. </p><p>Newer SAN configurations enable hybrid SAN<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and allow traditional block storage that appears as local storage but also object storage for web services through APIs. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Storage_architectures">Storage architectures</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Storage architectures"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png/220px-Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png/330px-Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png/440px-Fibre_Channel_Storage_Area_Network.png 2x" data-file-width="1285" data-file-height="998" /></a><figcaption>The Fibre Channel SAN connects servers to storage via Fibre Channel switches.</figcaption></figure> <p>Storage area networks (SANs) are sometimes referred to as <i>network behind the servers</i><sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 11">: 11 </span></sup> and historically developed out of a <a href="/w/index.php?title=Centralized_data_storage&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Centralized data storage (page does not exist)">centralized data storage</a> model, but with its own <a href="/wiki/Data_network" class="mw-redirect" title="Data network">data network</a>. A SAN is, at its simplest, a dedicated network for data storage. In addition to storing data, SANs allow for the automatic <a href="/wiki/Backup" title="Backup">backup</a> of data, and the monitoring of the storage as well as the backup process.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 16–17">: 16–17 </span></sup> A SAN is a combination of hardware and software.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 9">: 9 </span></sup> It grew out of data-centric <a href="/wiki/Mainframe_computer" title="Mainframe computer">mainframe architectures</a>, where clients in a network can connect to several <a href="/wiki/Server_(computing)" title="Server (computing)">servers</a> that store different types of data.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 11">: 11 </span></sup> To scale storage capacities as the volumes of data grew, <a href="/wiki/Direct-attached_storage" title="Direct-attached storage">direct-attached storage</a> (DAS) was developed, where <a href="/wiki/Disk_array" title="Disk array">disk arrays</a> or <a href="/wiki/Just_a_bunch_of_disks" class="mw-redirect" title="Just a bunch of disks">just a bunch of disks</a> (JBODs) were attached to servers. In this architecture, storage devices can be added to increase storage capacity. However, the server through which the storage devices are accessed is a <a href="/wiki/Single_point_of_failure" title="Single point of failure">single point of failure</a>, and a large part of the LAN network bandwidth is used for accessing, storing and backing up data. To solve the single point of failure issue, a <i>direct-attached shared storage</i> architecture was implemented, where several servers could access the same storage device.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 16–17">: 16–17 </span></sup> </p><p>DAS was the first network storage system and is still widely used where data storage requirements are not very high. Out of it developed the <a href="/wiki/Network-attached_storage" title="Network-attached storage">network-attached storage</a> (NAS) architecture, where one or more dedicated <a href="/wiki/File_server" title="File server">file server</a> or storage devices are made available in a LAN.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 18">: 18 </span></sup> Therefore, the transfer of data, particularly for backup, still takes place over the existing LAN. If more than a terabyte of data was stored at any one time, LAN bandwidth became a bottleneck.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 21–22">: 21–22 </span></sup> Therefore, SANs were developed, where a dedicated storage network was attached to the LAN, and terabytes of data are transferred over a dedicated high speed and bandwidth network. Within the SAN, storage devices are interconnected. Transfer of data between storage devices, such as for backup, happens behind the servers and is meant to be transparent.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 22">: 22 </span></sup> In a NAS architecture data is transferred using the <a href="/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol" title="Transmission Control Protocol">TCP</a> and <a href="/wiki/Internet_Protocol" title="Internet Protocol">IP</a> protocols over <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a>. Distinct protocols were developed for SANs, such as <a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel" title="Fibre Channel">Fibre Channel</a>, <a href="/wiki/ISCSI" title="ISCSI">iSCSI</a>, <a href="/wiki/Infiniband" class="mw-redirect" title="Infiniband">Infiniband</a>. Therefore, SANs often have their own network and storage devices, which have to be bought, installed, and configured. This makes SANs inherently more expensive than NAS architectures.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 29">: 29 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Components">Components</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Components"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg/200px-QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg/300px-QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg/400px-QLogic_QLE2562_8Gb_FC_HBA.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="1896" /></a><figcaption>Dual port 8 Gb FC host bus adapter card</figcaption></figure> <p>SANs have their own networking devices, such as SAN switches. To access the SAN, so-called SAN servers are used, which in turn connect to SAN <a href="/wiki/Host_adapter" title="Host adapter">host adapters</a>. Within the SAN, a range of data storage devices may be interconnected, such as SAN-capable disk arrays, JBODS and <a href="/wiki/Tape_libraries" class="mw-redirect" title="Tape libraries">tape libraries</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NIIT_3-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 32, 35–36">: 32, 35–36 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Host_layer">Host layer</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Host layer"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Servers that allow access to the SAN and its storage devices are said to form the <i>host layer</i> of the SAN. Such servers have host adapters, which are cards that attach to slots on the server <a href="/wiki/Motherboard" title="Motherboard">motherboard</a> (usually PCI slots) and run with a corresponding <a href="/wiki/Firmware" title="Firmware">firmware</a> and <a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">device driver</a>. Through the host adapters the <a href="/wiki/Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating system</a> of the server can communicate with the storage devices in the SAN.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 26">: 26 </span></sup> </p><p>In Fibre channel deployments, a cable connects to the host adapter through the <a href="/wiki/Gigabit_interface_converter" title="Gigabit interface converter">gigabit interface converter</a> (GBIC). GBICs are also used on switches and storage devices within the SAN, and they convert digital bits into light impulses that can then be transmitted over the Fibre Channel cables. Conversely, the GBIC converts incoming light impulses back into digital bits. The predecessor of the GBIC was called gigabit link module (GLM).<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 27">: 27 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Fabric_layer">Fabric layer</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Fabric layer"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG/220px-ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG/330px-ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG/440px-ML-QLOGICNFCCONN.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2048" data-file-height="1536" /></a><figcaption> <a href="/wiki/Qlogic" class="mw-redirect" title="Qlogic">Qlogic</a> SAN-<a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_switch" title="Fibre Channel switch">switch</a> with optical Fibre Channel connectors installed</figcaption></figure> <p>The fabric layer consists of SAN networking devices that include <a href="/wiki/SAN_switch" class="mw-redirect" title="SAN switch">SAN switches</a>, routers, protocol bridges, gateway devices, and cables. SAN network devices move data within the SAN, or between an <i>initiator</i>, such as an HBA port of a server, and a <i>target</i>, such as the port of a storage device. </p><p>When SANs were first built, hubs were the only devices that were Fibre Channel capable, but Fibre Channel switches were developed and hubs are now rarely found in SANs. Switches have the advantage over hubs that they allow all attached devices to communicate simultaneously, as a switch provides a dedicated link to connect all its ports with one another.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 34">: 34 </span></sup> When SANs were first built, Fibre Channel had to be implemented over copper cables, these days multimode <a href="/wiki/Optical_fiber" title="Optical fiber">optical fibre cables</a> are used in SANs.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 40">: 40 </span></sup> </p><p>SANs are usually built with redundancy, so SAN switches are connected with redundant links. SAN switches connect the servers with the storage devices and are typically non-blocking allowing transmission of data across all attached wires at the same time.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 29">: 29 </span></sup> SAN switches are for redundancy purposes set up in a <a href="/wiki/Mesh_networking" title="Mesh networking">meshed topology</a>. A single SAN switch can have as few as 8 ports and up to 32 ports with modular extensions.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 35">: 35 </span></sup> So-called director-class switches can have as many as 128 ports.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 36">: 36 </span></sup> </p><p>In switched SANs, the Fibre Channel switched fabric protocol FC-SW-6 is used under which every device in the SAN has a hardcoded <a href="/wiki/World_Wide_Name" title="World Wide Name">World Wide Name</a> (WWN) address in the host bus adapter (HBA). If a device is connected to the SAN its WWN is registered in the SAN switch name server.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 47">: 47 </span></sup> In place of a WWN, or worldwide port name (WWPN), SAN Fibre Channel storage device vendors may also hardcode a worldwide node name (WWNN). The ports of storage devices often have a WWN starting with 5, while the bus adapters of servers start with 10 or 21.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 47">: 47 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Storage_layer">Storage layer</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Storage layer"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fibre_Channel_layers.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Fibre_Channel_layers.svg/300px-Fibre_Channel_layers.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Fibre_Channel_layers.svg/450px-Fibre_Channel_layers.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Fibre_Channel_layers.svg/600px-Fibre_Channel_layers.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="548" data-file-height="397" /></a><figcaption>Fibre Channel is a layered technology that starts at the physical layer and progresses through the protocols to the upper-level protocols like SCSI and SBCCS.</figcaption></figure> <p>The serialized <a href="/wiki/Small_Computer_Systems_Interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Small Computer Systems Interface">Small Computer Systems Interface</a> (SCSI) protocol is often used on top of the Fibre Channel switched fabric protocol in servers and SAN storage devices. The <a href="/wiki/Internet_Small_Computer_Systems_Interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Internet Small Computer Systems Interface">Internet Small Computer Systems Interface</a> (iSCSI) over Ethernet and the <a href="/wiki/Infiniband" class="mw-redirect" title="Infiniband">Infiniband</a> protocols may also be found implemented in SANs, but are often bridged into the Fibre Channel SAN. However, Infiniband and iSCSI storage devices, in particular, disk arrays, are available.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 47–48">: 47–48 </span></sup> </p><p>The various storage devices in a SAN are said to form the <i>storage layer</i>. It can include a variety of <a href="/wiki/Hard_disk" class="mw-redirect" title="Hard disk">hard disk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Magnetic_tape" title="Magnetic tape">magnetic tape</a> devices that store data. In SANs, disk arrays are joined through a <a href="/wiki/RAID" title="RAID">RAID</a> which makes a lot of hard disks look and perform like one big storage device.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 48">: 48 </span></sup> Every storage device, or even partition on that storage device, has a <a href="/wiki/Logical_unit_number" title="Logical unit number">logical unit number</a> (LUN) assigned to it. This is a unique number within the SAN. Every node in the SAN, be it a server or another storage device, can access the storage by referencing the LUN. The LUNs allow for the storage capacity of a SAN to be segmented and for the implementation of access controls. A particular server, or a group of servers, may, for example, be only given access to a particular part of the SAN storage layer, in the form of LUNs. When a storage device receives a request to read or write data, it will check its access list to establish whether the node, identified by its LUN, is allowed to access the storage area, also identified by a LUN.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 148–149">: 148–149 </span></sup> LUN masking is a technique whereby the host bus adapter and the SAN software of a server restrict the LUNs for which commands are accepted. In doing so LUNs that should never be accessed by the server are masked.<sup id="cite_ref-Dummies_4-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 354">: 354 </span></sup> Another method to restrict server access to particular SAN storage devices is fabric-based access control, or zoning, which is enforced by the SAN networking devices and servers. Under zoning, server access is restricted to storage devices that are in a particular SAN zone.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Network_protocols">Network protocols</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Network protocols"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A mapping layer to other protocols is used to form a network: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ATA_over_Ethernet" title="ATA over Ethernet">ATA over Ethernet</a> (AoE), mapping of <a href="/wiki/AT_Attachment" class="mw-redirect" title="AT Attachment">AT Attachment</a> (ATA) over Ethernet</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_Protocol" title="Fibre Channel Protocol">Fibre Channel Protocol</a> (FCP), a mapping of SCSI over Fibre Channel</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_over_Ethernet" title="Fibre Channel over Ethernet">Fibre Channel over Ethernet</a> (FCoE)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/ESCON" title="ESCON">ESCON</a> over Fibre Channel (<a href="/wiki/FICON" title="FICON">FICON</a>), used by <a href="/wiki/Mainframe_computer" title="Mainframe computer">mainframe computers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/HyperSCSI" title="HyperSCSI">HyperSCSI</a>, mapping of SCSI over Ethernet</li> <li><a href="/wiki/IFCP" class="mw-redirect" title="IFCP">iFCP</a><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or <a href="/wiki/SANoIP" class="mw-redirect" title="SANoIP">SANoIP</a><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> mapping of FCP over IP</li> <li><a href="/wiki/ISCSI" title="ISCSI">iSCSI</a>, mapping of SCSI over <a href="/wiki/TCP/IP" class="mw-redirect" title="TCP/IP">TCP/IP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ISCSI_Extensions_for_RDMA" title="ISCSI Extensions for RDMA">iSCSI Extensions for RDMA</a> (iSER), mapping of iSCSI over <a href="/wiki/InfiniBand" title="InfiniBand">InfiniBand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_block_device" title="Network block device">Network block device</a>, mapping <a href="/wiki/Device_node" class="mw-redirect" title="Device node">device node</a> requests on <a href="/wiki/UNIX-like" class="mw-redirect" title="UNIX-like">UNIX-like systems</a> over <a href="/wiki/Stream_socket" class="mw-redirect" title="Stream socket">stream sockets</a> like TCP/IP</li> <li><a href="/wiki/SCSI_RDMA_Protocol" title="SCSI RDMA Protocol">SCSI RDMA Protocol</a> (SRP), another SCSI implementation for <a href="/wiki/Remote_direct_memory_access" title="Remote direct memory access">remote direct memory access</a> (RDMA) transports</li></ul> <p>Storage networks may also be built using <a href="/wiki/Serial_Attached_SCSI" title="Serial Attached SCSI">Serial Attached SCSI</a> (SAS) and <a href="/wiki/Serial_ATA" class="mw-redirect" title="Serial ATA">Serial ATA</a> (SATA) technologies. SAS evolved from SCSI direct-attached storage. SATA evolved from <a href="/wiki/Parallel_ATA" title="Parallel ATA">Parallel ATA</a> direct-attached storage. SAS and SATA devices can be networked using <a href="/wiki/Serial_Attached_SCSI#SAS_expanders" title="Serial Attached SCSI">SAS Expanders</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"> <caption>Examples of stacked protocols using SCSI </caption> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="7">Applications </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="7"><a href="/wiki/SCSI" title="SCSI">SCSI</a> Layer </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="4"><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_Protocol" title="Fibre Channel Protocol">FCP</a> </td> <td rowspan="3"><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_Protocol" title="Fibre Channel Protocol">FCP</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_Protocol" title="Fibre Channel Protocol">FCP</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel_Protocol" title="Fibre Channel Protocol">FCP</a> </td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/ISCSI" title="ISCSI">iSCSI</a> </td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/ISCSI_Extensions_for_RDMA" title="ISCSI Extensions for RDMA">iSER</a> </td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/SCSI_RDMA_Protocol" title="SCSI RDMA Protocol">SRP</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/FCIP" class="mw-redirect" title="FCIP">FCIP</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/IFCP" class="mw-redirect" title="IFCP">iFCP</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><a href="/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol" title="Transmission Control Protocol">TCP</a> </td> <td colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Remote_direct_memory_access" title="Remote direct memory access">RDMA</a> Transport </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/FCoE" class="mw-redirect" title="FCoE">FCoE</a> </td> <td colspan="3"><a href="/wiki/Internet_Protocol" title="Internet Protocol">IP</a> </td> <td colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Internet_Protocol" title="Internet Protocol">IP</a> or <a href="/wiki/InfiniBand" title="InfiniBand">InfiniBand</a> Network </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Fibre_Channel" title="Fibre Channel">FC</a> </td> <td colspan="4"><a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> </td> <td colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> or InfiniBand Link </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Software">Software</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Software"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Storage_Networking_Industry_Association" title="Storage Networking Industry Association">Storage Networking Industry Association</a> (SNIA) defines a SAN as "a network whose primary purpose is the transfer of data between computer systems and storage elements". But a SAN does not just consist of a communication infrastructure, it also has a software <i>management layer</i>. This software organizes the servers, storage devices, and the network so that data can be transferred and stored. Because a SAN does not use <a href="/wiki/Direct_attached_storage" class="mw-redirect" title="Direct attached storage">direct attached storage</a> (DAS), the storage devices in the SAN are not owned and managed by a server.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 11">: 11 </span></sup> A SAN allows a server to access a large data storage capacity and this storage capacity may also be accessible by other servers.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 12">: 12 </span></sup> Moreover, SAN software must ensure that data is directly moved between storage devices within the SAN, with minimal server intervention.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 13">: 13 </span></sup> </p><p>SAN management software is installed on one or more servers and management clients on the storage devices. Two approaches have developed in SAN management software: in-band and out-of-band management. In-band means that management data between server and storage devices is transmitted on the same network as the storage data. While out-of-band means that management data is transmitted over dedicated links.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 174">: 174 </span></sup> SAN management software will collect management data from all storage devices in the storage layer. This includes info on read and write failures, storage capacity bottlenecks and failure of storage devices. SAN management software may integrate with the <a href="/wiki/Simple_Network_Management_Protocol" title="Simple Network Management Protocol">Simple Network Management Protocol</a> (SNMP).<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 176">: 176 </span></sup> </p><p>In 1999 Common Information Model (CIM), an open standard, was introduced for managing storage devices and to provide interoperability, The web-based version of CIM is called Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) and defines SAN storage device objects and process transactions. Use of these protocols involves a CIM object manager (CIMOM), to manage objects and interactions, and allows for the central management of SAN storage devices. Basic device management for SANs can also be achieved through the <a href="/wiki/Storage_Management_Interface_Specification" class="mw-redirect" title="Storage Management Interface Specification">Storage Management Interface Specification</a> (SMI-S), were CIM objects and processes are registered in a directory. Software applications and subsystems can then draw on this directory.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 177">: 177 </span></sup> Management software applications are also available to configure SAN storage devices, allowing, for example, the configuration of zones and LUNs.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 178">: 178 </span></sup> </p><p>Ultimately SAN networking and storage devices are available from many vendors and every SAN vendor has its own management and configuration software. Common management in SANs that include devices from different vendors is only possible if vendors make the <a href="/wiki/Application_programming_interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Application programming interface">application programming interface</a> (API) for their devices available to other vendors. In such cases, upper-level SAN management software can manage the SAN devices from other vendors.<sup id="cite_ref-Tate_2-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 180">: 180 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Filesystems_support">Filesystems support</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Filesystems support"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a SAN, data is transferred, stored and accessed on a block level. As such, a SAN does not provide <a href="/wiki/Data_file" title="Data file">data file</a> abstraction, only <a href="/wiki/Block-level_storage" title="Block-level storage">block-level storage</a> and operations. Server operating systems maintain their own <a href="/wiki/File_system" title="File system">file systems</a> on their own dedicated, non-shared LUNs on the SAN, as though they were local to themselves. If multiple systems were simply to attempt to share a LUN, these would interfere with each other and quickly corrupt the data. Any planned sharing of data on different computers within a LUN requires software. <a href="/wiki/File_systems" class="mw-redirect" title="File systems">File systems</a> have been developed to work with SAN software to provide <a href="/w/index.php?title=File-level_access&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="File-level access (page does not exist)">file-level access</a>. These are known as <a href="/wiki/Shared-disk_file_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Shared-disk file system">shared-disk file system</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="In_media_and_entertainment">In media and entertainment</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: In media and entertainment"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Video_editing" title="Video editing">Video editing</a> systems require very high data transfer rates and very low latency. SANs in media and entertainment are often referred to as serverless due to the nature of the configuration which places the video workflow (ingest, editing, playout) desktop clients directly on the SAN rather than attaching to servers. Control of data flow is managed by a distributed file system. Per-node bandwidth usage control, sometimes referred to as <a href="/wiki/Quality_of_service" title="Quality of service">quality of service</a> (QoS), is especially important in video editing as it ensures fair and prioritized bandwidth usage across the network. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quality_of_service">Quality of service</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Quality of service"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>SAN Storage QoS enables the desired storage performance to be calculated and maintained for network customers accessing the device. Some factors that affect SAN QoS are: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)" title="Bandwidth (computing)">Bandwidth</a> –  The rate of data throughput available on the system.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latency_(engineering)" title="Latency (engineering)">Latency</a> –  The time delay for a read/write operation to execute.</li> <li>Queue depth –  The number of outstanding operations waiting to execute to the underlying disks (traditional or <a href="/wiki/Solid-state_drive" title="Solid-state drive">solid-state drives</a>).</li></ul> <p>Alternatively, <a href="/wiki/Over-provisioning" class="mw-redirect" title="Over-provisioning">over-provisioning</a> can be used to provide additional capacity to compensate for peak network traffic loads. However, where network loads are not predictable, over-provisioning can eventually cause all bandwidth to be fully consumed and latency to increase significantly resulting in SAN performance degradation. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Storage_virtualization">Storage virtualization</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Storage virtualization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Storage_virtualization" title="Storage virtualization">Storage virtualization</a> is the process of abstracting logical storage from physical storage. The physical storage resources are aggregated into storage pools, from which the logical storage is created. It presents to the user a logical space for data storage and transparently handles the process of mapping it to the physical location, a concept called <a href="/wiki/Location_transparency" title="Location transparency">location transparency</a>. This is implemented in modern disk arrays, often using vendor-proprietary technology. However, the goal of storage virtualization is to group multiple disk arrays from different vendors, scattered over a network, into a single storage device. The single storage device can then be managed uniformly.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_networked_storage_hardware_platforms" title="List of networked storage hardware platforms">List of networked storage hardware platforms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_storage_area_network_management_systems" title="List of storage area network management systems">List of storage area network management systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Massive_array_of_idle_disks" class="mw-redirect" title="Massive array of idle disks">Massive array of idle disks</a> (MAID)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Storage_hypervisor" class="mw-redirect" title="Storage hypervisor">Storage hypervisor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Storage_resource_management" title="Storage resource management">Storage resource management</a> (SRM)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Converged_storage" title="Converged storage">Converged storage</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://waterpanther.com/collections/expanse-san-drives">"Water Panther Expanse SAN Series | Enterprise Data Center Hard Drives & SSDs"</a>. <i>Water Panther</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220718191845/https://waterpanther.com/collections/expanse-san-drives">Archived</a> from the original on 18 July 2022<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 July</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Water+Panther&rft.atitle=Water+Panther+Expanse+SAN+Series+%7C+Enterprise+Data+Center+Hard+Drives+%26+SSDs&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwaterpanther.com%2Fcollections%2Fexpanse-san-drives&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Tate-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tate_2-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJon_TatePall_BeckHector_Hugo_IbarraShanmuganathan_Kumaravel2017" class="citation web cs1">Jon Tate; Pall Beck; Hector Hugo Ibarra; Shanmuganathan Kumaravel; Libor Miklas (2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245470.pdf">"Introduction to Storage Area Networks"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Red Books, IBM. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200101200125/http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245470.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 1 January 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 September</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Introduction+to+Storage+Area+Networks&rft.pub=Red+Books%2C+IBM&rft.date=2017&rft.au=Jon+Tate&rft.au=Pall+Beck&rft.au=Hector+Hugo+Ibarra&rft.au=Shanmuganathan+Kumaravel&rft.au=Libor+Miklas&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redbooks.ibm.com%2Fredbooks%2Fpdfs%2Fsg245470.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-NIIT-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NIIT_3-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><i>Special Edition: Using Storage Area Networks</i>. Que Publishing. 2002. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7897-2574-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7897-2574-5"><bdi>978-0-7897-2574-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Special+Edition%3A+Using+Storage+Area+Networks&rft.pub=Que+Publishing&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=978-0-7897-2574-5&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dummies-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dummies_4-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChristopher_PoelkerAlex_Nikitin2009" class="citation book cs1">Christopher Poelker; Alex Nikitin, eds. (2009). <i>Storage Area Networks For Dummies</i>. John Wiley & Sons. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-47134-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-470-47134-0"><bdi>978-0-470-47134-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Storage+Area+Networks+For+Dummies&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-0-470-47134-0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRichard_BarkerPaul_Massiglia2002" class="citation book cs1">Richard Barker; Paul Massiglia (2002). <span class="id-lock-limited" title="Free access subject to limited trial, subscription normally required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/storageareanetwo00bark"><i>Storage Area Network Essentials: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Implementing SANs</i></a></span>. John Wiley & Sons. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/storageareanetwo00bark/page/n228">198</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-471-26711-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-471-26711-9"><bdi>978-0-471-26711-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Storage+Area+Network+Essentials%3A+A+Complete+Guide+to+Understanding+and+Implementing+SANs&rft.pages=198&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=978-0-471-26711-9&rft.au=Richard+Barker&rft.au=Paul+Massiglia&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fstorageareanetwo00bark&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=IPstorage">"TechEncyclopedia: IP Storage"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090409174610/http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=IPstorage">Archived</a> from the original on 9 April 2009<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">9 December</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=TechEncyclopedia%3A+IP+Storage&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techweb.com%2Fencyclopedia%2Fdefineterm.jhtml%3Fterm%3DIPstorage&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=SANoIP">"TechEncyclopedia: SANoIP"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090409174616/http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=SANoIP">Archived</a> from the original on 9 April 2009<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">9 December</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=TechEncyclopedia%3A+SANoIP&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techweb.com%2Fencyclopedia%2Fdefineterm.jhtml%3Fterm%3DSANoIP&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPC_Magazine" class="citation web cs1">PC Magazine. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53951/virtual-storage">"Virtual Storage"</a>. <i>PC Magazine Encyclopedia</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190830110653/https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53951/virtual-storage">Archived</a> from the original on 30 August 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=PC+Magazine+Encyclopedia&rft.atitle=Virtual+Storage&rft.au=PC+Magazine&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcmag.com%2Fencyclopedia%2Fterm%2F53951%2Fvirtual-storage&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AStorage+area+network" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.snia.org/education/storage_networking_primer/san/what_san">What Is a Storage Area Network (SAN)?</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245470.pdf">Introduction to Storage Area Networks Exhaustive Introduction into SAN</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=IBM_Redbooks&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="IBM Redbooks (page does not exist)">IBM Redbook</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111030172419/http://capitalhead.com/articles/san-vs-das-a-cost-analysis-of-storage-in-the-enterprise.aspx">SAN vs. DAS: A Cost Analysis of Storage in the Enterprise</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> (archived 2011-10-30)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://searchstorage.techtarget.co.uk/generic/0,295582,sid181_gci1516893,00.html">SAS and SATA, solid-state storage lower data center power consumption</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101018190550/http://searchstorage.techtarget.co.uk/generic/0,295582,sid181_gci1516893,00.html">Archived</a> 18 October 2010 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivYD7W2z2HMGGRIwRoRcqLL4HMpR1dIe">SAN NAS Videos</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox582" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q237576#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/4658854-1">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh2001003093">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987007534823405171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&oldid=1250385837">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&oldid=1250385837</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Data_management" title="Category:Data management">Data management</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_engineering" title="Category:Telecommunications engineering">Telecommunications engineering</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Storage_area_networks" title="Category:Storage area networks">Storage area networks</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_May_2022" title="Category:Use dmy dates from May 2022">Use dmy dates from May 2022</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_American_English_from_July_2020" title="Category:Use American English from July 2020">Use American English from July 2020</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_Wikipedia_articles_written_in_American_English" title="Category:All Wikipedia articles written in American English">All Wikipedia articles written in American English</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Webarchive_template_wayback_links" title="Category:Webarchive template wayback links">Webarchive template wayback links</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 10 October 2024, at 03:34<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Storage_area_network&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" lang="en" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-header-container vector-sticky-header-container"> <div id="vector-sticky-header" class="vector-sticky-header"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-start"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-start vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" aria-hidden="true"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-sticky-header-search-toggle" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.vector-sticky-search-form.icon"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </div> <div role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box"> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="vector-sticky-search-form" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia"> <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-sticky-header-toc vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">Storage area network</span></div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-end" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icons"> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-talk-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="talk-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbles mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbles"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-subject-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="subject-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-article mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-article"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-history-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>33 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-567b97b4dc-cqdzc","wgBackendResponseTime":126,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.566","walltime":"0.670","ppvisitednodes":{"value":8811,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":48096,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":3400,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":16,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":4,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":49681,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 598.603 1 -total"," 27.97% 167.441 31 Template:Rp"," 25.74% 154.058 31 Template:R/superscript"," 19.45% 116.435 5 Template:Cite_web"," 13.51% 80.859 93 Template:R/where"," 13.36% 79.982 1 Template:Area_networks"," 12.74% 76.275 1 Template:Sidebar"," 10.10% 60.470 1 Template:Short_description"," 8.68% 51.961 1 Template:Authority_control"," 6.20% 37.126 2 Template:Pagetype"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.331","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5986979,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.canary-6b89c8ff8f-c2jqj","timestamp":"20250211201211","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Storage area network","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Storage_area_network","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q237576","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q237576","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2003-07-13T17:33:59Z","dateModified":"2024-10-10T03:34:17Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/6\/6e\/Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.svg","headline":"network which provides access to consolidated, block level data storage"}</script> </body> </html>