Storage Area Network Fundamentals looks at the various areas and technologies associated with SANs, the available SAN technology, its limitations, expenditures and ways to minimize them, and the forthcoming technology, so that organizations can deploy real operational storage in data centers without further delay. Designed as an introduction to SANs, Storage Area Network Fundamentals develops an understanding of SAN basics and how to plan, implement, and manage a storage area network. The book covers the different topologies, protocols, and products required to implement and manage efficient SANs, as well as questions to test the knowledge imparted to the reader.

The inside scoop on a leading-edge data storage technology The rapid growth of e-commerce and the need to have all kinds of applications operating at top speed at the same time, all on a 24/7 basis while connected to the Internet, is overwhelming traditional data storage methods. The solution? Storage Area Networks (SANs)--the data communications technology that's expected to revolutionize distributed computing. Written by top technology experts at VERITAS Software Global Corporation, this book takes readers through all facets of storage networking, explaining how a SAN can help consolidate conventional server storage onto networks, how it makes applications highly available no matter how much data is being stored, and how this in turn makes data access and management faster and easier. System and network managers considering storage networking for their enterprises, as well as application developers and IT staff, will find invaluable advice on the design and deployment of the technology and how it works. Detailed, up-to-date coverage includes: The evolution of the technology and what is expected from SANs Killer applications for SANs Full coverage of storage networking and what it means for the enterprise's information processing architecture Individual chapters devoted to the storage, network, and software components of storage networking Issues for implementation and adoption

Unlike networking technology, where there is already a great deal of literature available, many professionals still need to understand the basic building blocks of storage networking. This book provides vendor-neutral, independent analysis and terminology.

A comparative analysis of Ethernet, TCP/IP, and Fibre Channel in the context of SCSI Introduces network administrators to the requirements of storage protocols Explains the operation of network protocols to storage administrators Compares and contrasts the functionality of Ethernet, TCP/IP, and Fibre Channel Documents the details of the major protocol suites, explains how they operate, and identifies common misunderstandings References the original standards and specifications so you can get a complete understanding of each protocol Helps you understand the implications of network design choices Discusses advanced network functionality such as QoS, security, management, and protocol analysis Corporations increasingly depend on computer and communication technologies to remain competitive in the global economy. Customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, and e-mail are a few of the many applications that generate new data every day. Effectively storing, managing, and accessing that data is a primary business challenge in the information age. Storage networking is a crucial component of the solution to meet that challenge. Written for both storage administrators who need to learn more about networking and network administrators who need to learn more about storage, Storage Networking Protocol Fundamentals is a concise introduction to storage networking protocols. The book picks up where Storage Networking Fundamentals left off by focusing on the networking protocols that underlie modern open systems: block-oriented storage networks. The first part of the book introduces you to the field of storage networking and the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. The second part compares networked storage technologies, including iSCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface over IP) and Fibre Channel. It also examines in detail each of the major protocol suites layer-by-layer within the OSI reference model. The third part discusses advanced functionalities of these technologies, such as quality of service (QoS), load-balancing functions, security, management, and protocol analysis. You can read this book cover to cover or use it as a reference, directly accessing the particular topics of interest to you. “Storage networking is a critical concept for today’s businesses, and this book provides a unique and helpful way to better understand it. Storage networking is also continuously evolving, and as such this book may be seen as an introduction to the information technology infrastructures of the future.” —from the foreword by Claudio DeSanti, vice-chairman of the ANSI INCITS T11 Technical Committee

The superabundance of data that is created by today's businesses is making storage a strategic investment priority for companies of all sizes. As storage takes precedence, the following major initiatives emerge: Flatten and converge your network: IBM® takes an open, standards-based approach to implement the latest advances in the flat, converged data center network designs of today. IBM Storage solutions enable clients to deploy a high-speed, low-latency Unified Fabric Architecture. Optimize and automate virtualization: Advanced virtualization awareness reduces the cost and complexity of deploying physical and virtual data center infrastructure. Simplify management: IBM data center networks are easy to deploy, maintain, scale, and virtualize, delivering the foundation of consolidated operations for dynamic infrastructure management. Storage is no longer an afterthought. Too much is at stake. Companies are searching for more ways to efficiently manage expanding volumes of data, and to make that data accessible throughout the enterprise. This demand is propelling the move of storage into the network. Also, the increasing complexity of managing large numbers of storage devices and vast amounts of data is driving greater business value into software and services. With current estimates of the amount of data to be managed and made available increasing at 60% each year, this outlook is where a storage area network (SAN) enters the arena. SANs are the leading storage infrastructure for the global economy of today. SANs offer simplified storage management, scalability, flexibility, and availability; and improved data access, movement, and backup. Welcome to the cognitive era. The smarter data center with the improved economics of IT can be achieved by connecting servers and storage with a high-speed and intelligent network fabric. A smarter data center that hosts IBM Storage solutions can provide an environment that is smarter, faster, greener, open, and easy to manage. This IBM® Redbooks® publication provides an introduction to SAN and Ethernet networking, and how these networks help to achieve a smarter data center. This book is intended for people who are not very familiar with IT, or who are just starting out in the IT world.

Network Storage: Tools and Technologies for Storing Your Company's Data explains the changes occurring in storage, what they mean, and how to negotiate the minefields of conflicting technologies that litter the storage arena, all in an effort to help IT managers create a solid foundation for coming decades. The book begins with an overview of the current state of storage and its evolution from the network perspective, looking closely at the different protocols and connection schemes and how they differentiate in use case and operational behavior. The book explores the software changes that are motivating this evolution, ranging from data management, to in-stream processing and storage in virtual systems, and changes in the decades-old OS stack. It explores Software-Defined Storage as a way to construct storage networks, the impact of Big Data, high-performance computing, and the cloud on storage networking. As networks and data integrity are intertwined, the book looks at how data is split up and moved to the various appliances holding that dataset and its impact. Because data security is often neglected, users will find a comprehensive discussion on security issues that offers remedies that can be applied. The book concludes with a look at technologies on the horizon that will impact storage and its networks, such as NVDIMMs, The Hybrid Memory Cube, VSANs, and NAND Killers. - Puts all the new developments in storage networking in a clear perspective for near-term and long-term planning - Offers a complete overview of storage networking, serving as a go-to resource for creating a coherent implementation plan - Provides the details needed to understand the area, and clears a path through the confusion and hype that surrounds such a radical revolution of the industry

Evaluating, planning, and migrating to SAN storage architectures SAN concepts, components, and applications--in depth Management, backup, disaster recovery, and day-to-day administration Includes an overview of Fibre Channel, the SAN enabler The complete guide to SAN technology for every implementer and manager! Every month, enterprises require more information, delivered faster, with greater reliability--and traditional data storage methods no longer suffice. Enter the Storage Area Network (SAN), which can store enormous amounts of data, serve it at lightning speed, scale to meet accelerating growth, and deliver unprecedented reliability. Now, there's a complete guide to SAN technology for every IT professional and decision-maker. Storage Area Networks covers it all: key concepts, components, applications, implementation examples, management, and much more. Coverage includes: What SANs are, what they can do, and how they overcome the critical limitations of earlier data storage systems Evolving to SANs: best practices for building SANs from your legacy storage topologies An overview of Fibre Channel, the key enabling technology for SANs SAN configuration, device, and connectivity options--in depth Well-managed SANs: day-to-day administration, backup, restore, and disaster recovery A detailed review of Hewlett-Packard's market-leading SAN product line: Fibre Channel chips, host bus adapters, hubs, arrays, tape libraries, bridges, switches, and more Storage Area Networks also previews the future of SAN technology: policy-based SANs, emerging applications, and more.Whether you're considering a SAN for the first time, or you want a comprehensive management reference for the SAN you've already invested in, this book offers the insights, techniques, and guidance you need right now.

Storage Area Networks (SANs) enable companies to manage data but many potential users judge them too confusing to use. This volume offers guidance for businesses and IT professionals who wish to understand, use, and derive maximum business advantages from SANs. Vacca, an IT consultant and author, covers the entire SAN lifecycle, from planning and strategy to implementation and day-to-day administration. c. Book News Inc.

Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals For many IT organizations, today''s greatest challenge is to drive more value, efficiency, and utilization from data centers. Virtualization is the best way to meet this challenge. Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals brings together the comprehensive knowledge Cisco professionals need to apply virtualization throughout their data center environments. Leading data center expert Gustavo A. A. Santana thoroughly explores all components of an end-to-end data center virtualization solution, including networking, storage, servers, operating systems, application optimization, and security. Rather than focusing on a single product or technology, he explores product capabilities as interoperable design tools that can be combined and integrated with other solutions, including VMware vSphere. With the author''s guidance, you''ll learn how to define and implement highly-efficient architectures for new, expanded, or retrofit data center projects. By doing so, you can deliver agile application provisioning without purchasing unnecessary infrastructure, and establish a strong foundation for new cloud computing and IT-as-a-service initiatives. Throughout, Santana illuminates key theoretical concepts through realistic use cases, real-world designs, illustrative configuration examples, and verification outputs. Appendixes provide valuable reference information, including relevant Cisco data center products and CLI principles for IOS and NX-OS. With this approach, Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals will be an indispensable resource for anyone preparing for the CCNA Data Center, CCNP Data Center, or CCIE Data Center certification exams. Gustavo A. A. Santana, CCIE® No. 8806, is a Cisco Technical Solutions Architect working in enterprise and service provider data center projects that require deep integration across technology areas such as networking, application optimization, storage, and servers. He has more than 15 years of data center experience, and has led and coordinated a team of specialized Cisco engineers in Brazil. He holds two CCIE certifications (Routing & Switching and Storage Networking), and is a VMware Certified Professional (VCP) and SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E). A frequent speaker at Cisco and data center industry events, he blogs on data center virtualization at gustavoaasantana.net. Learn how virtualization can transform and improve traditional data center network topologies Understand the key characteristics and value of each data center virtualization technology Walk through key decisions, and transform choices into architecture Smoothly migrate existing data centers toward greater virtualization Burst silos that have traditionally made data centers inefficient Master foundational technologies such as VLANs, VRF, and virtual contexts Use virtual PortChannel and FabricPath to overcome the limits of STP Optimize cabling and network management with fabric extender (FEX) virtualized chassis Extend Layer 2 domains to distant data center sites using MPLS and Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) Use VSANs to overcome Fibre Channel fabric challenges Improve SAN data protection, environment isolation, and scalability Consolidate I/O through Data Center Bridging and FCoE Use virtualization to radically simplify server environments Create server profiles that streamline "bare metal" server provisioning "Transcend the rack" through virtualized networking based on Nexus 1000V and VM-FEX Leverage opportunities to deploy virtual network services more efficiently Evolve data center virtualization toward full-fledged private clouds -Reviews - "The variety of material that Gustavo covers in this work would appeal to anyone responsible for Data Centers today. His grasp of virtualization technologies and ability to relate it in both technical and non-technical terms makes for compelling reading. This is not your ordinary tech manual. Through use of relatable visual cues, Gustavo provides information that is easily recalled on the subject of virtualization, reaching across Subject Matter Expertise domains. Whether you consider yourself well-versed or a novice on the topic, working in large or small environments, this work will provide a clear understanding of the diverse subject of virtualization." -- Bill Dufresne, CCIE 4375, Distinguished Systems Engineer, Cisco (Americas) "..this book is an essential reference and will be valuable asset for potential candidates pursuing their Cisco Data Center certifications. I am confident that in reading this book, individuals will inevitably gain extensive knowledge and hands-on experience during their certification preparations. If you''re looking for a truly comprehensive guide to virtualization, this is the one!" -- Yusuf Bhaiji, Senior Manager, Expert Certifications (CCIE, CCDE, CCAr), Learning@Cisco "When one first looks at those classic Cisco Data Center blueprints, it is very common to become distracted with the overwhelming number of pieces and linkages. By creating a solid theoretical foundation and providing rich sets of companion examples to illustrate each concept, Gustavo''s book brings hope back to IT Professionals from different areas of expertise. Apparently complex topics are demystified and the insertion of products, mechanisms, protocols and technologies in the overall Data Center Architecture is clearly explained, thus enabling you to achieve robust designs and successful deployments. A must read... Definitely!" -- Alexandre M. S. P. Moraes, Consulting Systems Engineer -- Author of "Cisco Firewalls"

Learn efficient ways to harness and manage your data storage networks Whether you're preparing for the CompTIA Storage+ exam or simply seeking a deeper understanding of data storage networks, this Sybex guide will help you get there. This book covers data storage from the basics to advanced topics, and provides practical examples to show you ways to deliver world-class solutions. In addition, it covers all the objectives of the CompTIA Storage+ exam (SG0-001), including storage components, connectivity, storage management, data protection, and storage performance. Focuses on designing, implementing, and administering storage for today's evolving organizations, getting under the hood of the technologies that enable performance, resiliency, availability, recoverability, and simplicity Covers virtualization, big data, cloud storage, security, and scalability as well as how storage fits in to the wider technology environments prevalent in today's cloud era Provides advice and real-world examples that storage administrators in the trenches can actually use An excellent study aid for the CompTIA Storage+ exam (SG0-001), covering all the exam objectives Data Storage Networking: Real World Skills for the CompTIA Storage+ Certification and Beyond provides a solid foundation for data storage administrators and a reference that can be consulted again and again.