This document provides an overview of storage technologies, including direct attached storage (DAS), network attached storage (NAS), iSCSI, and storage area networks (SAN). It defines key components like RAID controllers and host bus adapters, compares internal and external storage, and describes protocols like Fibre Channel and iSCSI. The benefits of SANs are consolidated storage and reduced costs. Fibre Channel is designed for high performance while iSCSI offers moderate performance at a lower cost.
2. Objectives for this Unit
Understand Storage Basics
Introduce Direct Attached Storage
Differentiate between types of storage
DAS
NAS
ISCSI
SAN
Introduce Network Attached Storage
Introduce Fibre Channel SAN
3. A Few Storage Basics.
Where will data finally end up?
How will it get there?
What will it pass through?
7. DAS w/ internal controller and
external storage
CPU
Memory
Bus
I/O - RAID
Controller
Computer System
Disk Drives
Disk Drives
Disk Drives
Disk Enclosure
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8. Comparing Internal and External
Storage
Internal Storage
Server
Storage
RAID controllers
and disk drives
are internal to the
server
SCSI, ATA, or
SATA protocol
between controller
and disks
SCSI Bus w/ external storage
Server
RAID Controller
Storage
RAID Controller
Disk Drives
RAID controller is
internal
SCSI or SATA
protocol between
controller and
disks
Disk drives are
external
Disk Drives
9. DAS w/ external controller and
external storage
Computer System
CPU
Memory
Bus
HBA
RAID
Controller
Storage System
Disk Drives
Disk Drives
Disk Drives
Disk Enclosure
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10. DAS over Fibre Channel
Server
HBA
Storage
Disk drives and
RAID controller
are external
Disk Drives
RAID Controller
HBA is internal
Fibre Channel
protocol
between HBAs
and external
RAID controller
External SAN Array
11. I/O Transfer
RAID Controller
Contains the smarts
Determines how the data will be written (striping,
mirroring, RAID 10, RAID 5, etc.)
Host Bus Adapter (HBA)
Simply transfers the data to the RAID controller.
Doesnt do any RAID or striping calculations.
Dumb for speed.
Required for external storage.
12. Storage types
Single Disk Drive
JBOD
Volume
Storage Array
SCSI device
DAS
NAS
SAN
iSCSI
13. NAS: What is it?
Network Attached Storage
Utilizes a TCP/IP network to share data
Uses file sharing protocols like Unix NFS
and Windows CIFS
Storage Appliances utilize a stripped-
down OS that optimizes file protocol
performance
14. Networked Attached Storage
NAS Server
Storage
Server has a
Network Interface
Card
No RAID
Controller or HBA
in the server
Public or Private Ethernet
network
RAID Controller
Disk Drives
All data converted
to file protocol for
transmission (may
slow down
database
transactions)
Server
NIC NIC
15. iSCSI: What is it?
An alternate form of networked storage
Like NAS, also utilizes a TCP/IP network
Encapsulates native SCSI commands in TCP/IP
packets
Supported in Windows 2003 Server and Linux
TCP/IP Offload Engines (TOEs) on NICs speed
up packet encapsulation
16. iSCSI Storage
iSCSI Storage
Server has a
Network Interface
Card or iSCSI
HBA
iSCSI HBAs use
TCP/IP Offload
Engine (TOE)
Public or Private Ethernet
network
RAID Controller
Disk Drives
SCSI commands
are encapsulated
in TCP/IP packets
Server
NIC or iSCSI HBA NIC or iSCSI HBA
17. Fibre Channel: What is it?
Fibre Channel is a network protocol
implemented specifically for dedicated
storage networks
Fibre Channel utilizes specialized
Switches
Host Bus Adapters
RAID controllers
Cables
18. switch
Fibre Channel Components
RAID Controller RAID Controller
switch
Servers
Host Bus Adapters
Cables
Fiber optic or copper
Fibre Channel Switches
Two switches for redundancy
Fibre Channel Storage Array
Two RAID Controllers for
redundancy
4100+ disk drives per array
A true storage network
Multiple servers
Multiple switches
Multiple Storage Arrays
Server A
HBA
Server B
HBA
Server C
HBA
Disk Drives
FC Storage Array
HBA HBA HBA
19. SAN: What is it?
Storage Area Network
A network whose primary purpose is the transfer
of data between storage systems and computer
systems
Fibre Channel is the primary technology utilized
for SANs
Recently, SANs have been implemented with
dedicated iSCSI networks
20. Benefits of SAN/Consolidated
Storage
Reduce cost of external storage
Increase performance
Centralized and improved tape backup
LAN-less backup
High-speed, no single-point-of-failure
clustering solutions
Consolidation with > 70TB of storage
21. Fibre Channel Technology
Provides concurrent communications between servers,
storage devices, and other peripherals
A gigabit interconnect technology
FC1: Over 1,000,000,000 bits per second
FC2: Over 2,000,000,000 bits per second
A highly reliable interconnect
Up to 127 devices (SCSI: 15)
Up to 10 km of cabling (3-15 ft. for SCSI)
Physical interconnect can be copper or fiber optic
22. Fibre Channel (continued)
Hot-pluggable - Devices can be removed
or added at will with no ill effects to data
communications
Provides a data link layer above the
physical interconnect, analogous to
Ethernet
Sophisticated error detection at the frame
level
Data is checked and resent if necessary
23. Fibre Channel Frame
Dissection
Up to 2048 byte
payload
4 byte checksum
for each frame
24. Fibre Channel
Whats with the funny name?
Some background history required
Originally developed to only support fiber optic
cabling
When copper cabling support was added, ISO
decided not to rename the technology
ISO changed to the French spelling to reduce
association with fiber optics only medium
25. Fibre Channel
How does it work?
Serial interface
Data is transferred across a single piece of
medium at the fastest speed supported
No complex signaling required
27. SCSI vs. Fibre Channel
Protocol
SCSI
SCSI protocol vs. SCSI device
SCSI is an established, tried and true protocol
Provides services analogous to TCP/IP
Supported in every major OS on market
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel runs on top of SCSI
No re-inventing the wheel
Immediate OS support
28. SCSI vs. FC Transmission
RAID Controller Disk Drive
Fibre Channel
SCSI
RAID Controller Disk Drive
29. SCSI vs. Fibre Channel
Interface for internal storage to
external disks
Potential down time w/ SCSI
Single bus
RAID controller is SCSI hardware
Standards:
Ultra2 (80 MB/sec)
Ultra 160 (160 MB/sec)
Ultra 320 (320 MB/sec)
Media specific (copper only)
SCSI Limitations:
Cables cant be any longer
than 3 feet for single ended;
15 feet for LVD (low voltage
differential)
No more than 15 devices on
a SCSI bus
# of disk drives
Used with SAN
Lots of built-in redundancy with connections
Redundant network
HBA is fibre channel hardware
Standards:
FC1: 100 MB/sec
FC2: 200 MB/sec
Provides a data link layer above the physical
interconnect
Analogous to Ethernet
FC is a network of devices
It can be media independent- copper or
fibre optic
Fibre Channel limitations:
Cable length: Up to 10 kilometers (more
a limitation of cable than FC itself)
Up to 127 devices
# of disk drives
30. Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI
Fibre Channel
The current market leader for shared storage technologies
Provides the highest performance levels
Designed for mission-critical applications
Cost of components is relatively high, particularly per server
HBA costs
Relatively difficult to implement and manage
iSCSI
Relatively new, but usage is increasing rapidly
Performance can approach Fibre Channel speeds
A better fit for databases than NAS
A good fit for Small to Medium Size Businesses
Relatively inexpensive, compared to Fibre Channel
Relatively easy to implement and manage
31. Microsoft Simple SAN Initiative
Make operating system aware of SAN and SAN
capabilities
Shift integration burden from IT staff or services back
to VENDORS products:
Microsoft
Storage hardware and software
Application developers
Key storage technologies:
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
Virtual Disk Service (VDS)
Microsoft Multipath Input/Output (MPIO)
Microsoft iSCSI driver
Software Initiator (client)
Software Target (attached to disk subsystem)
32. Review
What is the difference between a RAID
Controller and an HBA?
How many protocols may be used for DAS?
Name two types of storage that rely on ethernet
cables
Name two benefits of SANs
Describe the four interface layers of the Fibre
Channel protocol
Describe a scenario where an iSCSI SAN may
be preferred over a Fibre Channel SAN
33. Summary
How data is routed through a server to I/O
Types of storage
DAS
NAS
iSCSI
SAN
Benefits of SAN technology
Storage consolidation
Reduced costs
Centralized, LAN-free backup and restore
The Fibre Channel protocol
How it works
Fibre Channel protocol vs. SCSI protocol
Comparing Fibre Channel SANs and iSCSI SANs
Fibre Channel SANs offer mission-critical performance, with relatively high
costs and high complexity
iSCSI SANs offer moderate to high performance at an attractive
price/performance ration and are relatively easy to administer