Storage Area Networks for Dummies, 2nd Edition
About the Authors
Dedication
Authorβs Acknowledgments
Contents at a Glance
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Conventions Used in This Book
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Part I: SAN 101
Chapter 1: The Storage Area Network
Defining a SAN
Fiber versus Fibre
How a SAN Makes Computing Different
Understanding the Benefits of a SAN
Finding Out Whether a SAN Is Right for You
Dissecting a SAN (The Four Ps)
The Parts of a SAN
The SAN Protocols
The SAN Players
The SAN Platforms
Chapter 2: SAN Building Blocks
SAN Components and How Theyβre Used
The Host Layer
The Fabric Layer
The Storage Layer
Chapter 3: What Makes a SAN Go
Networking Basics
Moving Data at the Speed of Light
Bandwidth
Fibre Channel Protocols
The Switched Fabric
Chapter 4: What Makes a SAN Stop
Discovering What Causes SAN Problems
Preventing Poor SAN Design
Using the Right Cables in the Right Way
Part II: Designing and Building a SAN
Chapter 5: Designing the SAN
Basic SAN Designs: Understanding the Layers
Point-to-Point Topology
Arbitrated Loop Topology
Switched Fabric Topology
Basic Fabric Topologies
Understanding Zoning
Initial Switch Setup
Best Practices β Tips from the Trenches
Chapter 6: SANs and Disaster Recovery
How Much Downtime Can You Afford?
Recognizing the Importance of Distance, Bandwidth, and Latency
Choosing the Recovery Site
Choosing Where to Run the Data Replication Process
The Importance of Testing
Chapter 7: Putting It All Together
Building a SAN by Hand
The SAN Plan
Setting Up the SAN
Preparing the Servers
Configuring the Array
Plugging Things In
Configuring the Zones
Back to the Servers: Did It Work?
iSCSI, You SCSI, We All SCSI
Data Migration
Part III: Using Advanced SAN Features
Chapter 8: Networking SANs
Defining a SAN Island
Connecting SAN Islands
The Storage WAN, MAN, and SWAN
Choosing and Using SAN Extenders
Choosing the Correct Link for the Job
Reducing Costs with Compression, Data De-duplication and WAN Tuners
SAN Connection Protocols
Stretching the SAN (The Rubber-Band Approach)
Using Connected SAN Islands (The Two-Rubber-Bands Approach)
Using a SAN as Network Attached Storage
iSCSI: An Alternative Method
Chapter 9: SAN-Based Backup
Understanding Backup
Understanding SAN Backup
Choosing a Backup Solution
Determining How Long a Backup Will Take
Chapter 10: Mirror, Mirror: Point-in-Time Copies
The Uses of Point-in-Time Technology
Complete versus Metadata Copies
Which PiT Type Should You Use?
Creating a PiT Copy
Managing Your Point-in-Time Copies
The Finer Points of PiT
Part IV: SAN Management and Troubleshooting
Chapter 11: Approaches to SAN Management
Management: From Simple Networking to SANs
SAN Management from the Ground Up
Cable Management: Spaghetti, Anyone?
Labeling Your Cables
Using a SAN Management Framework
What SAN Management Gives You
Streamlining SAN Administration
Automating Your System: βSAN? Do You Read Me, SAN?β
Providing a Service Level Agreement
Building a Storage Management Team
Chapter 12: Troubleshooting SANs
The Best Method: Prevention
Troubleshooting Methodology
Typical Problem Types
Example Scenarios
Part V: Understanding the Cool Stuff
Chapter 13: Using Data De-Duplication to Lighten the Load
Understanding Data De-Duplication
Data De-Duplication in the Datacenter
Using Data De-Duplication in a SAN
Why Data De-Duplication Is Important
When to Use Data De-Dupe (And When Not To)
De-Duplication in Action
Chapter 14: Continuous Data Protection
Understanding What Continuous Data Protection Is
How CDP Makes Storage Work Like a Database
Best Practices for Storage When Configuring CDP Solutions
The Truth about Near CDP and True CDP Solutions
CDP versus Snapshots
Using CDP to Eliminate Backups
Using CDP to Simplify Recovery and Reduce Costs
Knowing Your CDP Vendor
Chapter 15: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Virtualization
Understanding What Virtualization Is
Exploring the Types of Virtualization
Implementing Virtualization in a Datacenter
In-Band versus Out-of-Band Virtualization
The Virtualization Vendors and Where They Play
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 16: Ten Reasons to Use a SAN
You Want Better Disk Utilization
You Need a Good Disaster Recovery Solution for Multiple Applications
You Need Better Availability for Your Applications
You Need More Storage Room
Backup Is Taking Too Long
Youβre Focusing on Server and Storage Consolidation
Youβve Been Tasked to Save Your Company Money
You Need to Manage Storage for Many Locations from a Central Site
You Need to Decrease IT Management Costs
You Need Better Performance for Your Applications
Chapter 17: Ten Reasons NOT to Use a SAN
You Need Larger File Servers
You Only Have a Few Inexpensive Servers
You Want to Save Your Company Money This Year
You Want to Use the Latest and Greatest Solutions Available
You Need a Disaster-Recovery Solution for a Single Application
You Want a SAN but Donβt Have the Budget
You Use Gigabit Ethernet on Your LAN
Everything Already Runs Fine
You Need to Back Up Multiple Remote Offices over Slow Links
You Need to Replicate Your Data for Disaster Recovery but Canβt Afford Fast WAN Connections
Index