A Storage Area Network (SAN) Is A Specific, High-Speed Network That Connects Storage Devices To The Internet

 

Storage Area Network (SAN) 

A Storage Area Network is a high-speed network that connects and provides a shared band of storage devices to multiple servers. SANs are commonly used in backup and disaster recovery scenarios. Storage Area Network are used to increase the capacity of mass storage devices that have access to servers, such as optical jukeboxes, tape libraries, and disc arrays. The growing volume of critical data in the global business environment has increased the need for enterprises to improve the performance, manageability, availability, and security of data storage assets. Furthermore, many businesses are focusing on implementing specialised storage networks that can help them achieve operational efficiencies.

Previously, in a traditional approach, LAN was used for data backup and restore functions, which are particularly slow and have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of the operation. In contrast, because it does not use critical server I/O or CPU resources, data moves smoothly across the SAN to tape devices in the SAN approach. Several issues can be addressed by combining high-performance backup and restore capabilities with data availability and device sharing. This includes performance degradation, extended downtime periods, and shrinking backup windows. However, the increase in overall server efficiency provided by SAN architecture with server-less backup is fueling SAN adoption across various verticals.

According to a Study by Coherent Market Insights, The global Storage Area Network (SAN) Market was accounted for US$ 17,823.4 Mn in terms of value in 2019 and is expected to grow at CAGR of 3.5% for the period 2020-2027.

The increased use of SANs by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is expected to drive market growth, particularly in emerging economies. The benefits of SANs such as flexibility, shared storage, and centralised control, in order to share capacity between multiple hosts, are driving SAN adoption among smaller organisations. As a result, major SAN solution providers are constantly focusing on products that are simple to use and cost-effective for smaller businesses, which is expected to fuel the growth of storage area networks (SAN).

For FibreChannel technology, several standards have been developed. Different vendors' interpretations of these standards have resulted in the development of products that cannot always work together on the same network. Interoperability issues have a negative impact on the SAN's growth. Previously, storage and servers were purchased separately by different groups within the IT department and under different parts of the IT budget. However, the increasing use of cloud-based platforms has changed the strategy. Furthermore, the increasing use of virtualization techniques in server and storage has resulted in a significant shift in the procurement and deployment of data centre infrastructure. Many businesses are shifting from purchasing individual physical servers linked to SANs to modular reference architectures that include every component required to run various applications.