The Ultimate Guide to Understanding SAN Storage Pricing
A SAN provides high-speed data access that relieves storage traffic from competing with servers and applications for the same LAN bandwidth. This is especially important in large and complex environments where demand is high.
A SAN also consolidates storage in a single location, providing raw performance and scalability for the most demanding enterprise applications. This translates to hard-dollar savings in data center floor space, power, and cooling.
What is a SAN?
A SAN storage network provides centralized access to shared disks, tape libraries, and other devices. Its functions include:
- Boosting business productivity.
- Providing disaster recovery capabilities.
- Improving data availability in case of a hardware failure or cyberattack.
The SAN fabric connects servers and storage devices and is typically built with optical fiber cables to support high-speed networking over long distances. Server operating systems access SAN storage through dedicated, non-shared logical units of storage (LUNs). These LUNs are presented to the system as local disk drives.
Because SAN storage is separate from the LAN, its connections and data are protected from hackers or other disasters. Additionally, SANs can back up all of your data at once, which frees up other servers for work and ensures that the latest version of your data is available in case of a disaster or data loss.
Depending on the size of your organization, the number of servers, and the amount of storage you need, you can choose from various SAN storage solutions. Some SANs use Fibre Channel to transfer data between servers and storage devices, while others use less expensive iSCSI or FCoE. Still others are unified SAN/NAS solutions, which combine file-based and block-based storage in one system. They offer a higher level of performance than conventional direct-attached storage (DAS). However, they can still be complex and costly to implement.
Types of SANs
There are several SAN options, depending on the needs and requirements of each organization. They include virtual SAN, unified SAN, and converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions. SANs, such as database applications, are often used for enterprise workloads that require high-speed data access. They offer higher I/O processing speeds and lower latency than NAS storage and provide the infrastructure reliability needed to prevent application failures that can affect multiple applications simultaneously.
A SAN network uses dedicated hardware, such as Fibre Channel switches and host bus adapters, to connect storage devices and servers. SANs typically have high-speed data access up to 10x faster than LAN connectivity. They also feature high levels of redundancy so that if a device fails or the network suffers an outage, the SAN can redirect traffic to a functioning system.
SANs can also improve the performance of storage systems by providing multiple ways to utilize available space efficiently. They can use thin provisioning to allow more capacity to be allocated than is physically available, and they can take advantage of advanced flash technologies such as NVMe to achieve high transfer rates and low latency.
While SANs can benefit organizations, they are usually most effective in larger-scale deployments where the SAN storage pricing and complexity can be justified. Smaller projects may find it easier to achieve the same results with iSCSI, a converged storage solution, or hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI).
Types of SAN Storage
A SAN’s network fabric separates storage from servers and allows it to be treated as a single resource, improving performance, simplifying management, and providing greater data resilience. In addition to centralized features that can be applied across the SAN fabric, such as RAID and data deduplication, most SANs also offer advanced storage-specific technologies for increased capacity, data protection, and self-healing capabilities.
SANs typically use fast fiber optic cables to transfer storage data at high rates, up to 4 Gbps. This is significantly faster than the standard data transmission rates used in networks with network-attached storage (NAS) or direct-attached storage (DAS).
Conventional SAN architecture guarantees storage independence from applications and various access paths, even in path failure. This provides a high level of storage availability for mission-critical applications.
Typical SANs are built with internal RAID technology to improve disk reliability, which additional internal technologies for storage optimization, such as RAID-5/6 and data deduplication, can enhance. In addition, SAN systems typically include isolation techniques that can restrict host access to specific LUNs.
SANs can be implemented in various forms, from the traditional FC-based models with dedicated high-performance networks to iSCSI or converged SANs using a shared network. Additionally, SANs are sold as a service, whereby a SAN is built and maintained by the provider, who then sells customers access to their LUNs on the SAN for a recurring monthly fee.
Pricing for SAN Storage
SANs are often used to store business-critical data that need quick access. For example, ERP and CRM applications typically require high performance and availability. The scalability of a SAN means that it can grow as an organization grows. Moreover, it is easier to scale than other storage solutions, such as network-attached storage (NAS).
A SAN allows fast, prioritized data travel between servers and storage hardware. It also reduces stress on a local area network. This is a critical benefit for businesses with numerous servers and significant amounts of storage.
Additionally, SANs support backups, which are stored on the SAN. This allows for faster backups because the data doesn’t have to travel over the LAN. SAN storage also provides better protection from server or data loss.
A SAN can be used with different types of hardware, including solid-state drives and traditional hard disk drives. Many SANs use RAID technology to provide resilience and capacity. Typically, RAID systems offer advanced features that include snapshots or cloning, storage replication, and self-healing capabilities. Although these technologies are intended to increase security and storage efficiency, they may raise the total cost of a SAN solution. SANs also often feature an array of management and monitoring tools to help organizations manage the deployment. These tools can assist in locating early warning indicators that might result in failures or latency in the SAN fabric.