Storage Area Network (SAN) is a high-speed subnetwork of shared storage devices. A storage device is a machine that contains nothing but a disk or disks for storing data.
A SAN's architecture works in a way that makes all storage devices available to all servers on a LAN or WAN. As more storage devices are added to a SAN, they too will be accessible from any server in the larger network. In this case, the server merely acts as a pathway between the end user and the stored data.
Because stored data does not reside directly on any of a network's servers, server power is utilized for business applications, and network capacity is released to the end user.
Network Storage -- The Basics This series of articles looks at the basics of network storage and some of the specific technologies in more detail.
Seagate Backup Exex Seagate Software's Shared Storage Option implementation of SAN backup technology.
