存储区域网络（SAN）是一个专用的高速网络，可访问块级存储。通过将SANS与LAN的其余部分隔离，用于提高应用程序的可用性和性能。
SANS使企业能够更轻松地分配和管理存储资源，从而提高效率。“您可以在不同的服务器上具有隔离的存储能力，而是可以在一堆不同的工作负载上共享容量池，并根据需要将其雕刻。保护更容易，更容易管理。”Enterprise Strategy Group.
什么是圣？
A SAN consists of interconnected hosts, switches and storage devices. The components can be connected using a variety of protocols. Fibre Channel is the original transport protocol of choice. Another option is Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), which lets organizations move Fibre Channel traffic across existing high-speed Ethernet, converging storage and IP protocols onto a single infrastructure. Other options include Internet Small Computing System Interface (iSCSI), commonly used in small and midsize organizations, and InfiniBand, commonly used in high-performance computing environments.
Vendors offer entry-level and midrange SAN switches for rack settings, as well as high-end enterprise SAN directors for environments that require greater capacity and performance. Key vendors in the enterprise SAN market include Dell EMC, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Hitachi, IBM, NetApp, and Pure Storage.
“ SAN由两个层组成：第一个层 - 存储容器层 - 提供网络中的节点之间的连接，并运输面向设备的命令和状态。至少必须将一个存储节点连接到此网络。第二层 - 软件层 - 使用软件提供在第一层上运行的增值服务。”研究公司Gartner在其中说定义圣。
NAS与SAN有何不同？
SAN和网络连接存储（NAS）都是基于网络的存储解决方案。SAN通常使用光纤通道连接性，而NAS通常通过标准以太网连接与网络联系。SAN将数据存储在块级别，而NAS将数据访问作为文件。对于客户端OS，SAN通常以磁盘的形式出现，并以其独立的存储设备网络存在，而NAS则作为文件服务器出现。
SAN is associated with structured workloads such as databases, while NAS is generally associated with unstructured data such as video and medical images. “Most organizations have both NAS and SAN deployed in some capacity, and often the decision is based on the workload or application,” Sinclair says.
什么是统一存储？
Unified storage – also known as multiprotocol storage – grew out of the desire to stop procuring SAN and NAS as two separate storage platforms and to combine unified block and file storage in one system. With unified storage, a single system can support Fibre Channel and iSCSI block storage as well as file protocols such as NFS and SMB. NetApp is generally credited with the development of unified storage, though many vendors offer multiprotocol options.
Today, the majority of midrange enterprise storage arrays tend to be multiprotocol, Sinclair says. “Instead of buying a box for SAN storage and a box for NAS storage, you can buy one box that supports all four protocols – it could be Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SMB, NFS, whatever you want,” he says. “The same physical storage can be allocated to either NAS or SAN.”
企业sans有什么新功能？
存储供应商继续添加功能，以提高可扩展性，可管理性和效率。在性能方面，关键创新是闪存存储。供应商提供的混合阵列将旋转磁盘与闪存驱动器以及全闪存的SANS相结合。
In the enterprise storage world, flash so far is making greater inroads in SAN environments because the structured data workloads in a SAN tend to be smaller and easier to migrate than massive unstructured NAS deployments. Flash is impacting both SAN and NAS environments, “but it’s predominantly on the SAN side first, and then it's working its way to the NAS side,” Sinclair says.
Artificial intelligence is also influencing SAN product development. Vendors are looking to ease management by building artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) capabilities into their monitoring and support toolsets.aiopsuses machine learning and analytics to help enterprises monitor system logs, streamline storage provisioning, troubleshoot congestion, and optimize workload performance, for example.
In its most recent Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage, Gartner includes AIOps features among the key storage capabilities to consider when choosing a platform for structured data workloads. AIOps capabilities can target operational needs, “such as cost optimization and capacity management, proactive support, workload simulation and placement, forecast growth rates, and/or asset management strategies,” Gartner writes.
超融合基础架构的影响
While converged arrays and appliances blurred the lines between SAN and NAS, hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) took the consolidation of storage options even further.
HCIcombines storage, computing and networking into a single system in an effort to reduce data center complexity and increase scalability. Hyperconverged platforms include a hypervisor for virtualized computing, software-defined storage, and virtualized networking, and they typically run on standard, off-the-shelf servers.
HCI可以包含任何类型的存储 - 块，对象，并且文件存储可以在一个平台中组合，并且可以将多个节点聚类以创建共享存储容量的池。共享存储的好处是引起企业的共鸣，特别是因为许多现代应用程序都依赖文件和对象存储，并且非结构化数据的增长继续超过结构化数据的增长。HCI并不是所有SAN部署的替代品，但是企业可能会根据某些工作负载的成本，可伸缩性和性能要求选择HCI。
Consumption-based IT is a growing trend
影响传统SAN存储发展的另一个趋势是基于消费的IT的运动。付费按用途硬件模型旨在为本地基础架构提供类似云的定价结构。硬件是在网站上部署的，它实际上是通过基于硬件利用率的每月订阅来从供应商那里租用的。
Enterprises are looking for alternatives to buying equipment outright, and research firm IDC reports that 61% of enterprises plan to aggressively shift toward paying for infrastructure on a consumption basis. By 2024, half of data-center infrastructure will be consumed as a service, IDC predicts.
基于消费的吸收最强而不是计算。Gartner估计，到2025年，超过70％的公司企业级存储容量将被部署为基于消费的产品。这显着高于2021年不到40％。
Dell的Apex Line和HPE的Greenlake平台是基于消费的IT的示例，并且都包括按使用付费购买存储的选项。例如，戴尔的Apex数据存储服务为企业提供了三个块和文件存储的性能层的选择。订阅以一年或三年的期限提供，容量低至50 trabytes。