Storage area network (SAN)

A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed network or sub-network that provides data transmission between a computer and a storage system. A storage device is one or more disk devices used to store computer data. A San network consists of the communication structure of the network connection, the management layer of the Organization and connection, the storage components, and the computer system, so as to ensure the security and strength of data transmission.

A typical San is part of an enterprise's entire computer network resource. Generally, San is closely related to other computing resources to implement remote backup and archive storage. San supports Disk Mirroring, backup, and restore) file data archiving and retrieval, data migration between storage devices, and data sharing between different servers in the network. San can also be used to merge subnet and network attached storage (NAS: Network-Attached Storage) systems.

Currently, SAN technology, such as IBM's fiber scon, is commonly used as an enhanced ficon structure or an updated fiber channel technology. In addition, the high-speed Ethernet protocol is also used in the storage area network. SCSI and iSCSI are two widely used storage Region network protocols.