Storage Area Network (SAN)

Question 1

What is SAN?

Answer 1

A SAN is a high-speed, specialized network that provides block-level storage access to servers, allowing them to use storage devices as if they were local disks.

Question 2

What type of data does a SAN typically handle?

Answer 2

SANs handle block-level data.

Question 3

What is block storage?

Answer 3

Refers to when data is divided into equally sized blocks and stored.

Question 4

How does block storage work?

Answer 4

Data is broken down and is associated with an identifier, header and owner to differentiate and to be reassembled when required.

Question 5

What are the key benefits of block

Answer 5

Performance, low latency, scalability, quick updates and granular control

Question 6

What are common workloads that benefit from SAN storage?

Answer 6

Databases (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server)

Virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware vSphere)

High-performance transactional applications

ERP systems (e.g., SAP)

Email servers

Backup and disaster recovery systems

Question 7

What are the main protocols used in SAN environments?

Answer 7

Fibre Channel (FC)

iSCSI (Internet Small Computer Systems Interface)

FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)

NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)