Storage Attached Network & Network Attached Storage

 A SAN (Storage Attached Network) system is a complex network that interconnects a series of storage devices, switches, and hosts. It includes a unified network of devices from servers to end clients & gives storage devices a chance to interconnect and share information with each other. Servers identify the SAN as locally attached storage & connect to the SAN fabric using host bus adapters (HBAs). This storage system lets multiple servers share a storage pool & is independent of LAN. In contrast to NAS systems, SAN solutions are much faster. What makes them more efficient is that your devices won’t need to access local storage with SAN. The system functions at a cooler temperature & backups are faster as well.

On the other hand, NAS (Network attached storage) is a data storage device attached to a TCP/IP network. A NAS system is a singular hardware device that is connected through an ethernet connection to a local area network (LAN). Employees can access files from the NAS like any other file on the network since NAS appears to the operating system as a shared folder. NAS is not as fast as SAN and it is also dependent on LAN, which means if the LAN goes down so does the NAS. The system has a server that authenticates clients and maintains files in a similar procedure to that of regular file servers.

Indeed, building a storage area network is a huge investment but it will save you money in the long run. SAN and NAS are two of the prominent storage solutions that are commonly compared. One needs to be aware of the differences between SAN vs NAS to help determine which solution would be beneficial for a particular environment. SAN and NAS systems are perfect for industries that require data protection, for example, industries like healthcare, government, and non-profit organizations. A lot of companies make use of a combination of SAN and NAS storage systems for optimal network security. Although it's been observed that small businesses often prefer NAS systems over SAS for their ease of use and affordable price. NAS is a great reserve storage device for an immediate storage solution, but it doesn’t provide a solution to a set of other problems. What makes it appropriate for a ‘quick fix’ is its easy implementation & upfront architecture but it leaves some storage that needs to be disregarded. But on the downside, NAS has limited scalability, minimal speed & is heavily network dependent.

SAN is a dedicated network that facilitates servers to distribute a pool of storage resources. A SAN is not just one device, it is a chain of storage devices that function together as a single package. SANs are complex, intermixed systems most frequently used by companies with critical datasets, which seek top-of-the-line storage performance and security. SAN offers high-performance, faster backup, disaster recovery, better redundancy & lengthen the life of your hardware. SAN systems have a higher cost than NAS systems & are generally larger and more intricate. Certainly, SAN will be a better choice for larger businesses that need a faster storage solution that can manage numerous devices together.

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