Market outlook for storage subsystems, sas, nas and san 7. San is a storage network that provides block level data storage. The disadvantage is that it cannot be managed over a network, and may not have the same level of redundancy as a nas or san. Therefore, a nas device is also useful for the opposite reasonto offload local data to the network storage devices larger storage container. Adding resources to a nas requires the space, connectivity, and power to be free in a machine since the nas model usually depends on a single chassis or single virtual machine. Nas, short for networkattached storage is a file level computer data storage connected to a computer network that provides access to clients. Difference between san and nas with comparison chart.
San is becoming more like nas in that more san products are transitioning away from fibre channel to the more readily embraced ipbased approach. At this point, you may be looking at the benefits of both san and nas wondering why you cant use them together. While network attached storage nas device is a server connected to a network with the sole purpose of providing storage. This post will focus on the difference between nas and san and gives a comparison over nas vs san. The protocols used in san are scsi, fibre channel or sata. This is when luns logical unit numbers are involved on a host. The reality is that they are completely different products that serve different purposes, and often coexist together in the same environment.
This access means that you cant just copy files to the san over. Difference between nas and san data storage spiceworks. There is no technological difference between these devices. Nas solutions utilize tcpip based networks, such as ethernet san solutions use fibre channel connections fibercopperthe protocols being used. In comparison to nas, which provides a filelevel interface, iscsi provides a block. Performance analysis of nas and san storage for scientific. The main difference between san and nas is that the san is a highspeed network that stores and provides access to a large amount of data while the nas is a centralized location that stores and allows the devices in the network to access data san and nas are two of the various storage mechanisms are used in computer networks. What is the difference between san and nas san vs nas. The key difference between san and nas is that san is a block level data storage while nas is filelevel data storage todays technology has advanced so much that it has made our lives a lot easier and comfortable to live in. Nas network attached storage, using that definition and your loose definitions, san is and nas are equivalent.
It comprises hard disks, as well as management software. Pdf performance analysis of nas and san storage for scientific. Both refer to relatively new network technologies that let you manage the disk storage on your network. A storage area network san provides a pool of storage resources that can be centrally managed and allocated as needed, but how is a san different. The differences between nas and san can be seen when comparing their cabling and how theyre connected to the system, as well as how other devices communicate with them. In san the file system is handled by servers, whereas in nas the head unit controls file system. San vs nas difference between a storage area network and. The primary difference between the two is the medium used in transmitting the data to and fro as nas uses the network to transport. The backup and mirrors are made using blocks in san. Storage systems play a crucial part in any organizations computers. However, the two are sometimes used together to form whats known as a unified san.
Even san storage can also be considered as an equipment that has its own processingcomputing power. Nas or network attached storage is simply a network attached storage. A san is a network designed to attach storage hardware and software to servers. Each server on the network can access hard drives in the san as if. Storage area network san san is a dedicated highspeed network or subnetwork that interconnects and presents shared pools of storage devices to multiple servers. We currently have 2 nas units storing backups but am needing another one due to adding more severs and needing to backup more data. Essentially, nas is a highly specialized file server and because of its hardware, software, or specific configuration, nas. The media is the physical wiring and cabling that connects storage and processors. Introduction to storage area networks ibm redbooks. Nas, these organizations use a combination of the two network types sometimes, in the same multiprotocol storage array. Ein raid redundant array of independent disks ist eine anzahl.
Factors which determine using either of the network storage solutions. Network attached storage nas it is a special purpose device. The fibre channel of the san has a limit of around 10km at best a nas identifies data by file name and byte offsets, transfers file data or file metadata. Choosing between san and nas storage solutions nas storage solutions are generally faster, cheaper, and easierand they are usually used for smaller, more specific applications. Everything has gone digital now, in the past people used. Everyones favorite platform let them clear their confusion and the real difference between similar terms and items. Java project tutorial make login and register form step by step using netbeans and mysql database duration. Almost every form of data exchange you make on a daily basis can be broken. On the contrary, nas involves protocols such as nfs or cifs. Find out more about the differences between nas and san. What is the difference between san vs nas server fault. I have heard of san but have no clue how to set one up or really what the heck a san is. The use of san for large workloads eliminates the need for the collection of devices required to use nas.
San storage area network and nas network attached storage are two types of data storage systems who function, the storage and retrieval of data, are pretty much the same. Nas solutions use file level protocol cifsnfs and now also scsi over ip called iscsiprotocol. In simple terms, nas shares storage over a network. I am trying to figure out what to use for my company, a nas or san. But a typical difference between san and nas is that, a nas is a single storage device which operates on data files, whereas san is a local network of multiple devices which operate on disk blocks. There are certainly ways to scale a nas out to large sizes, but the san model is much more suited for growth and scale. The first difference is between the speed of a nas vs. These two storage architectures, both nas and san, are as much complementary as they are competitive and fill different needs and usage cases in the organization.
Nas its origin, present adoption and future incarnations 6. An effective way to distinguish the two is to look out the last term of each acronym. Inversely, in nas files are used to generate backup and mirror. Idc expects the market share of nasiscsi to grow from. Nas is dedicated 100% to serve files over a network.
Difference between san and nas compare the difference. This page compares dasdirect access storage vs nasnetwork attached storage vs sanstorage area network and mentions difference between dasdirect access storage,nasnetwork attached storage and sanstorage area network. As is often the case, people may confuse the term san with the term nas. However, nas is a much simpler and less expensive technology. What is the difference between san and nas answers. Storage area network architectures technology white.
Media is always managed by a lowlevel protocol unique to that media regardless of the attached devices. Difference between san and nas is that storage area network san is a highspeed network with the sole purpose of providing storage to other servers to which it is attached. This edition applies to the products in the ibm storage area networks san portfolio. Under the osn initiative, many vendors such as amdahl, network appliance, cisco. Typically sans use fibre channel, fibre channel over ethernet or iscsi access. Using a software program provided with the nas hardware, a network administrator can set up automatic or manual backups and file copies between the nas and the other connected devices. The primary difference between the two is the medium used in transmitting the data to and fro as nas uses the network to transport the data while san doesnt. Information technology has helped us become more effective and efficient in every aspect of daytoday work. Product guide that can be downloaded in pdf format from figure 6. Nas and san will continue to butt heads for the next few months, but as time goes on, the boundaries between nas and san are expected to blur, with developments like scsi over ip and open storage networking osn, the latter recently announced at networld interop. Network attached storage is a file level storage system served as. From a user perspective, the biggest difference between nas vs san is that nas devices look like volumes on a file server and use protocols like nfs and smbcifs, while sanconnected disks appear to the user as local drives. They can be as advanced, sophisticated, and fast as a san cloud, but that requires some additional work and configuration.
Sans create a dedicated network, focused on creating a universal any to any connectivity between storage and server nodes a network that com bines the best. A protocol is the rules for exchanging information between two objects. Before we really delve into the difference, it is worth discussing the nature of data, how it has changed and why choosing the right one is an important decision. A helpful guide when it comes to networkbased storage, networkattached storage nas and storagearea networks san are two popular choices that complement each other.
Nas has always been used traditionally to refer to a dedicated appliance that shares filesystems using nfs, cifs etc. What are network attached storage and storage area network. The host is in charge of the partition, formating, and access to the lun. The major difference between nas and san storage usage depends on. San is a dedicated network that interconnects multiple users to access block level data storage. The difference between nas and san is in whether the data is transferred across the network to. San, short for storagearea network, is a dedicated network that allows multiple users to access block level data storage.
We call it a san when we add some form of networking, generally a switch, between the device and the final device that is consuming the storage. Networkattached storage nas is basically a lanattached file server that. Nas is a device that has the sole purpose of storing your data. At its base, it is built with either sas or sata disks arranged in a raid. What are the differences between nas and san storage. Its easy to confuse the terms storage area network san and network attached storage nas. One way to loosely conceptualise the difference between a nas and a san is that a nas appears to the client os operating system as a file server the client can map network drives to shares on that server whereas a disk available through a san still appears to.