E-Seminar Storage Networking Internet Technology Solution Seminar
Storage Networking Internet Technology Solution Seminar 3 Welcome 4 Objectives 5 Storage Solution Requirements 6 Storage Networking Concepts 7 Storage Solutions 8 NAS versus SAN 9 Cisco Storage Networking 10 Storage Service Providers 11 Conclusions
Welcome Welcome to the Technology E-seminar on Storage Networking. With the increasingly widespread growth of Internet business solutions, such as E-Commerce, Web Marketing, Customer Care and E-Learning, companies are experiencing dramatic growth in their data storage requirements. Using the power of networking, storage and back-up solutions have evolved from locally attached hardware to network- and even Internet-based storage mechanisms. IP-based Storage Networking allows storage devices to be accessed, interconnected and located anywhere in the world. 3 of 11
Objectives This seminar examines the concept of Storage Networking and discusses the technical aspects of it. At the end of the seminar, you will have a good understanding about what Storage Networking is and how your business could benefit from it. You will also learn which Storage Networking solutions exist and how they work. Finally, we will discuss the technical requirements of implementing Storage Networking in your company. 4 of 11
Storage Solution Requirements Internet Business Solutions such as E-Commerce, Supply Chain Management, E-Learning, and many others, enable companies to improve their efficiency, reduce their costs and increase their revenues. Such applications not only require mission-critical networks to transport all involved voice, video and data traffic, but also require reliable storage of all digital data. Storage Networking therefore has arisen as an increasingly strategic component of the IT infrastructure of a modern business. Storage networking is a company-wide storage solution and should address the following needs. First, any storage solution should scale, share and maximise the utilisation of stored data, and all information resources in general. It should also streamline the administration of the overall storage environment. Furthermore, the total cost of ownership for storage should be minimised. And finally, the availability and integrity of stored data should be improved. 5 of 11
Storage Networking Concepts Let us first define some common terms and technologies related to Storage Networking. A widely known storage interface protocol is S-C-S-I, the Small Computer Systems Interface protocol. For many years, it has been a dominant standard for storage devices, such as disk and tape drives, inside and outside of high-performance servers. Because of its high data transfer rates, reliability and low latency, SCSI, usually pronounced scuzzy (*), is an ideal protocol for connecting various storage devices to a server. The SCSI protocol has evolved over the years and increased its scope as the foundation for other storage related technologies. However, although SCSI is popular and well-supported, its physical distance and sharing capability is severely limited. Other technologies, such as Fibre Channel and iscsi have come alongside SCSI to overcome these limitations, and to make storage more accessible and manageable. The Fibre Channel architecture was developed to address the speed, capacity and reliability requirements associated with communication between storage and server devices. It operates at 1, 2 or more Gigabits-per-second. SCSI is often mapped as a higher-layer protocol on Fibre Channel, which addresses its shortfalls in speed, number of devices, and physical distance limitations. Fibre Channel is able to transfer large blocks of data over long distances. The Internet SCSI protocol, also known as iscsi or SCSI-over-IP, is a networking protocol for SCSI traffic over a TCP/IP Ethernet network. It enables universal access to storage devices over standard TCP/IP networks. Enabling storage over IP networks brings all the power, features and benefits of TCP/IP to storage, such as security, reliability, VPN technology, and manageability. 6 of 11
Storage Solutions In today s computing environments, different storage topologies are possible. In LAN environments, a traditional method is Server Attached Storage, where the storage system is directly attached to a central server in the LAN network. This approach today still has a very large number of implementations, but unfortunately has a number of disadvantages. The server-centric architecture has proven costly to scale, complex to manage, and difficult to deliver with 24-by-7 availability. Networked storage on the other hand, also referred to as Storage Networking, can overcome these issues. Storage Networking can be described as the software and hardware that enable storage to be consolidated, shared, accessed and managed over a networked infrastructure. As such, it holds the promise of reducing the cost and complexity, associated with delivering highly available and scalable storage services. Storage networks can be implemented in two ways: either as NAS, or Network Attached Storage, or as SAN, which stands for Storage Area Network. SAN and NAS were independently developed networked storage approaches, driven by different customer requirements. Many classify the two as competing technologies, while they are in fact complementary. 7 of 11
NAS versus SAN Let s have a closer look to these two approaches to networked storage: NAS and SAN. Networked Attached Storage grew out of the concept of file servers in traditional LAN environments. A file server was a service to manage files for clients on a network. File-server attached storage could be served to users on a file-by-file bases. Management and backup of user data could be centralised around that server. Over time, this approach evolved to specialised storage servers connected to the network, and as such to Network Attached Storage. Because NAS systems are connected to the LAN, clients are able to transfer data to and from the storage devices associated with the NAS system. A Storage Area Network, on the other hand, is a dedicated, high performance network infrastructure deployed between servers and storage resources. The storage area infrastructure is a separate, dedicated network entity, optimised for the efficient movement of large amounts of raw block data. In effect, a SAN is an extended link between server and storage systems, and enables the extension of the SCSI protocol over long distances. SANs typically use the SCSI and Fibre Channel protocols. SANs are usually built using specially designed networking gear that closely resembles the switches and routers used to build packet-based LANs and WANs. NAS and SANs are complementary in that NAS products could be placed on dedicated SAN networks, and that SANs could be expanded to include IP and other non-storage associated networking protocols. The evolution of Storage Networking involves the fusion of the best features from NAS and SAN, to create solutions which meet the aggressive storage needs of today s Internet-centric business models. 8 of 11
Cisco Storage Networking Cisco Storage Networking includes a number of solutions and strategies for unifying data and storage networking. The goal of bringing traditional data networking on the one hand, and storage networking on the other, is to lower customers total cost of owning and managing storage as part of their overall IT infrastructure. Cisco Storage Networking is based on its AVVID architecture. It makes use of intelligent IP for data availability, protection, and scalability, and enables companies to migrate easily from direct attached storage to networked storage. To learn more about the AVVID model, please refer to the Technology Solutions E-seminar about this subject. Cisco Storage Networking ensures the efficient, high performance transport of storage applications such as storage consolidation, backup and restore, disaster recovery, and storage outsourcing. These solutions deliver storage across shared networks that integrate intelligent IP, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and optical networking: iscsi allows hosts to communicate with storage resources over a standard IP infrastructure Gigabit Ethernet provides high bandwidth and performance for demanding storage applications Optical networking provides high-speed reliable transport of storage across campus and metropolitan networks And Fibre Channel delivers high-speed connectivity between servers and storage devices 9 of 11
Storage Service Providors Companies today are faced with escalating storage requirements and a lack of skilled employees to manage their storage resources. This is causing them to be concerned about their storage architectures rather than their core competency of making products or providing services. Therefore, they are looking for different ways to improve their productivity and reduce their cost of ownership for storage. One of the possibilities is to outsource the storage process. Recently, a new type of Service Providers has appeared, to accommodate this need: Storage Service Providers, or SSPs. SSPs address the explosive growth of storage, the lack of skilled storage expertise and the scarcity of company data centre floor space. SSPs provide professionally managed, flexible storage networking solutions to customers. They assist in the design, implementation, and management of storage and storage networks, delivering storage services over open IP and optical network infrastructures. In this case, the customer s network is connected to the SSP s storage infrastructure through an IP network, or through an optical Metropolitan Area Network or MAN. SSPs can optimise their storage network using Storage Routers, which deliver the benefits of IP networking, such as security, management, Quality of Service (QoS), and scalability, to existing storage infrastructures. A Storage Router bridges the gap between the known Ethernet/IP world and the Fibre Channel/SCSI world by implementing iscsi technology. Customers of Storage Service Providers enjoy a number of benefits. These include reduced storage capital expenditures and enhanced data availability, reliability and scalability. Furthermore, they see lowered cost and improved efficiency in management and administration of their storage requirements. 10 of 11
Conclusions Let s summarise the most important elements of Storage Networking. Driven by Internet Business Solutions such as workforce collaboration, e- commerce, and e-learning, storage has emerged as a business-critical networked application. As in many other networking areas, IP technology is revolutionising the world of data storage as well, and brings together data networking and storage. Instead of connecting to host computers with complex proprietary technology, storage devices can now be accessed and interconnected using industry-standard IP networks. In addition to simplifying IT infrastructures and offering significant potential cost savings, Cisco Storage Networking solutions allow storage systems to be "unchained" from their host computers and located anywhere in the world. And finally, Storage Service Providers enable companies to outsource their storage requirements and provide professionally managed, flexible storage networking solutions 11 of 11