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Using SANs & NAS
Data is the lifeblood of modern business, and modern data
centers have extremely demanding requirements for size,
speed, and reliability. Storage Area Networks (SANs) and
Network Attached Storage (NAS) allow organizations to manage
and back up huge file systems quickly, thereby keeping their
lifeblood flowing. W. Curtis Preston's
insightful book
takes you through the ins and outs of building and managing
large data centers using SANs and NAS.
As a network administrator you're aware that multi-terabyte
data stores are common and petabyte data stores are starting
to appear. Given this much data, how do you ensure that it
is available all the time, that access times and throughput
are reasonable, and that the data can be backed up and
restored in a timely manner? SANs and NAS provide solutions
that help you work through these problems, with special
attention to the difficulty of backing up huge data stores.
This book explains the similarities and differences of SANs
and NAS to help you determine which, or both, of these
complementing technologies are appropriate for your network.
Using SANs, for instance, is a way to share multiple devices
(tape drives and disk drives) for storage, while NAS is a
means for centrally storing files so they can be shared.
Preston exams each technology with a vendor neutral
approach, starting with the building blocks of a SAN and how
they can be assembled for effective storage solutions. He
covers day-to-day management and backup and recovery for
both SANs and NAS in detail.
Whether you're a seasoned storage administrator or a network
administrator charged with taking on this role, you'll find
all the information you need to make informed architecture
and data management decisions. The book fans out to explore
technologies such as RAID and other forms of monitoring that
will help complement your data center. With an eye on the
future, other technologies that might affect the
architecture and management of the data center are explored.
This is sure to be an essential volume in any network
administrator's or storage administrator's library.
Preface
1. What Are SANs and NAS?
From SCSI to SANs
What Is a SAN?
Backup and Recovery: Before SANs
From NFS and SMB to NAS
SAN Versus NAS: A Summary
Which Is Right for You?
2. Fibre Channel Architecture
Fibre Channel: An Overview
Fibre Channel Ports
Fibre Channel Topologies
SAN Building Blocks
Fibre Channel and SANs: A Summary
3. Managing a SAN
The Different Uses for SANs
SAN Issues to Be Managed
Access to Storage Resources
Ongoing Maintenance
Using SANS to Maximize Your Storage
Summary
4. SAN Backup and Recovery
Overview
LAN-Free Backups
Client-Free Backups
Server-Free Backups
LAN-Free, Client-Free, or Server-Free?
5. NAS Architecture
What's Wrong with Standard NFS and CIFS?
NFS and CIFS Advances
System Architecture Advances
High Availability and Scalability
Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Ease of Maintenance
Ease of Use
6. Managing NAS
The Different Uses for NAS
Installing a Filer
Configuring a Filer
Applications
Data Migration
Maintenance
Monitoring, Analyzing, and Reporting
Performance Tuning
7. NAS Backup and Recovery
Snapshots and Mirroring
Native Utilities
NFS/CIFS
Push Agent Software
NDMP
What About LAN-Free, Client-Free, and Server-Free Backup?
Database Backup and Recovery
Benefits Summary
A. Disruptive Technologies
B. RAID Levels
Index
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