SAN / NAS ??

[nnair]

hi,
whats the diff b/w SAN & NAS?
I 've heard that NAS is for File related storage & normally connects using LAN. SAN uses fibre channel..
Could anyone explain in simple terms what the diff is??

Thanx in adv,
nikkks

 

[clonny2]

SAN = "Storage Area Network"
NAS = "Network Attached Storage"

Basically, SAN is a bunch of storage type devices that share a common name space and pool of storage. SAN does use fibre channel.

NAS is a specific file server used for storing files.


That is a very, very brief description.

 

[Psychoid]

Briefly,
NAS= single point of failure
SAN= highly redundant

NAS= less expensive
SAN= more expensive

NAS= slow
SAN= very fast



------------
Bill
Consultant / Network Engineer
CNE, CCNA

 

[nnair]

"SAN is a bunch of storage type devices that share a common name space and pool of storage" -->What does "common name space" mean here??
Also, can only files be stored on NAS systems?
What can be stored on SAN systems?

 

[jie]

SAN - storage area network uses fiber connection
NAS - network attached storage uses your LAN backbone and uses file i/o