SAN Data Recovery

SAN Data Recovery (Storage Area Networks) requires sophisticated software applications to plan, discover, configure and monitor the many components and technologies that makes up the SAN data recovery infrastructure.

Storage networks are distinguished from other forms of network storage by the low-level access method that they use. Data traffic on these networks is very similar to those used for internal disk drives, like ATA and SCSI.

In a storage network, a server issues a request for specific blocks, or data segments, from specific disk drives. This method is known as block storage. The device acts in a similar fashion to an internal drive, accessing the specified block, and sending the response across the network.

Computers store information on a variety of devices, some inside the system, and others external to the computer. Typically, data is written to a particular kind of storage medium using a disk drive. Common media include flexible (floppy disk drive), rigid (hard disk drive), tape, or optical (CD).

In more traditional file storage access methods, like SMB or NFS, a server issues a request for an abstract file as a component of a larger file system, managed by an intermediary computer. The intermediary then determines the physical location of the abstract resource, accesses it on one of its internal drives, and sends the complete file across the network.

Most storage networks use the SCSI protocol for communication between servers and devices, though they do not use its low-level physical interface.

SANs are an evolving approach to storage, where multiple storage devices are connected to multiple servers for higher capacity, throughput, and reliability. SANs require sophisticated RAID management software and high-performance I/O connectivity.

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