Storage Area Network

Storage Area Networks or sometimes referred to as SAN, are a separate computer network typically based on a fabric of fibre channel switches and hubs, connecting storage subsystems to a heterogeneous set of servers on a any server - to - any server basis. A SAN enables direct storage-to-storage interconnectivity and lends itself to taking advantages of new types of clustering technology.

Storage Area Network benefits include the following:

Promotes high availability
Improves data storage management and reduces costs
Enables efficient hardware deployment and utilization
Improves data backup efficiency and accessibility
Enables storage virtualization

	Storage Area Network (SAN)
	Storage Area Networks or sometimes referred to as SAN, are a separate computer network typically based on a fabric of fibre channel switches and hubs, connecting storage subsystems to a heterogeneous set of servers on a any server - to - any server basis. A SAN enables direct storage-to-storage interconnectivity and lends itself to taking advantages of new types of clustering technology. Storage Area Network benefits include the following: Promotes high availability Improves data storage management and reduces costs Enables efficient hardware deployment and utilization Improves data backup efficiency and accessibility Enables storage virtualization
	Creating a Storage Area Network Thousands of companies have internally justified the value of a SAN, and are realizing the many benefits of storage consolidation. Eastern Computer has assisted many of our customers in justifying, designing, and implementing SAN technology – we can do the same for you! Along the way, we’ll work with you to deliver the justification, and sound SAN design you need, allowing you to: Lower acquisition and management costs Increase performance and availability Handle 50-100% annual storage growth with minimal, to no impact to your business Minimize, or even eliminate backup windows Deliver operational and disaster recovery

	Growing a Storage Area Network If your SAN has existed for a year or more, you are more than likely struggling with the following questions: Should I have more than one fabric? Do I need a core/edge strategy? Should I expand with switches or directors? What features are different among SAN vendors, and how will that impact me? Should I connect my tape drives to the SAN? Should I back up data over the SAN? Should some of my data be on a NAS device, or never aging iSCSI? Eastern Computer can help answer all your SAN growth questions, and deliver an architecture that meets your business needs.

	Customized SAN Offerings Given there are numerous aspects of storage architecture touched by a customer’s SAN design, Eastern Computer can customize our SAN offerings to meet your needs. Here are some of the services delivered to our customer base: Complete Storage Audit – A thorough analysis of your current storage infrastructure, along with an architecture roadmap, and ROI for investing in a SAN Backup Audit – Backup issues can and do drive consolidated storage. We at Eastern computer can design the right SAN to meet your storage, and backup needs SAN Audit – Conducting an end-to-end analysis of your current SAN, while making recommendations for growth based on our SAN services best practices.