Using SANs and NAS: Help for Storage Administrators

by W. Preston, Mike Loukides (Editor)

Overview

Data is the lifeblood of modern business, and modern data centers have extremely demanding requirements for size, speed, and reliability. Storage Area Networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) allow organizations to manage and back up huge file systems quickly, thereby keeping their lifeblood flowing. W. Curtis Preston's insightful book takes you through the ins and outs of building and managing large data centers using SANs and NAS.

As a network administrator you're aware that multi-terabyte data stores are common and petabyte data stores are starting to appear. Given this much data, how do you ensure that it is available all the time, that access times and throughput are reasonable, and that the data can be backed up and restored in a timely manner? SANs and NAS provide solutions that help you work through these problems, with special attention to the difficulty of backing up huge data stores.

This book explains the similarities and differences of SANs and NAS to help you determine which, or both, of these complementing technologies are appropriate for your network. Using SANs, for instance, is a way to share multiple devices (tape drives and disk drives) for storage, while NAS is a means for centrally storing files so they can be shared. Preston exams each technology with a vendor neutral approach, starting with the building blocks of a SAN and how they can be assembled for effective storage solutions. He covers day-to-day management and backup and recovery for both SANs and NAS in detail.

Whether you're a seasoned storage administrator or a network administrator charged with taking on this role, you'll find all the information you need to make informed architecture and data management decisions. The book fans out to explore technologies such as RAID and other forms of monitoring that will help complement your data center. With an eye on the future, other technologies that might affect the architecture and management of the data center are explored. This is sure to be an essential volume in any network administrator's or storage administrator's library.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596001537
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/12/2002
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.19(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

W. Curtis Preston has specialized in designing data protection systems since 1993, and has designed such systems for many environments, both large and small. His lively prose and wry, real-world approach has made him a popular author and speaker.

Table of Contents

Dedication; Preface; Boy, Was This Fun!; What Is This Book For?; Conventions Used in This Book; Comments and Questions; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: What Are SANs and NAS?; 1.1 From SCSI to SANs; 1.2 What Is a SAN?; 1.3 Backup and Recovery: Before SANs; 1.4 From NFS and SMB to NAS; 1.5 SAN Versus NAS: A Summary; 1.6 Which Is Right for You?; Chapter 2: Fibre Channel Architecture; 2.1 Fibre Channel: An Overview; 2.2 Fibre Channel Ports; 2.3 Fibre Channel Topologies; 2.4 SAN Building Blocks; 2.5 Fibre Channel and SANs: A Summary; Chapter 3: Managing a SAN; 3.1 The Different Uses for SANs; 3.2 SAN Issues to Be Managed; 3.3 Access to Storage Resources; 3.4 Ongoing Maintenance; 3.5 Using SANs to Maximize Your Storage; 3.6 Summary; Chapter 4: SAN Backup and Recovery; 4.1 Overview; 4.2 LAN-Free Backups; 4.3 Client-Free Backups; 4.4 Server-Free Backups; 4.5 LAN-Free, Client-Free, or Server-Free?; Chapter 5: NAS Architecture; 5.1 What's Wrong with Standard NFS and CIFS?; 5.2 NFS and CIFS Advances; 5.3 System Architecture Advances; 5.4 High Availability and Scalability; 5.5 Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO); 5.6 Ease of Maintenance; 5.7 Ease of Use; Chapter 6: Managing NAS; 6.1 The Different Uses for NAS; 6.2 Installing a Filer; 6.3 Configuring a Filer; 6.4 Applications; 6.5 Data Migration; 6.6 Maintenance; 6.7 Monitoring, Analyzing, and Reporting; 6.8 Performance Tuning; Chapter 7: NAS Backup and Recovery; 7.1 Snapshots and Mirroring; 7.2 Native Utilities; 7.3 NFS/CIFS; 7.4 Push Agent Software; 7.5 NDMP; 7.6 What About LAN-Free, Client-Free, and Server-Free Backup?; 7.7 Database Backup and Recovery; 7.8 Benefits Summary; Appendix A: Disruptive Technologies; A.1 DAFS: Direct Access File System; A.2 VI: Virtual Interface; A.3 InfiniBand; A.4 iSCSI; Appendix B: RAID Levels; B.1 RAID 0; B.2 RAID 1; B.3 RAID 0+1; B.4 RAID 1+0 (RAID 10); B.5 RAID 2; B.6 RAID 3; B.7 RAID 4 and RAID 5; Colophon;