Data storage needs are growing exponentially as more businesses adopt digital transformation strategies and move critical workloads to the cloud. This massive growth in data is putting immense pressure on traditional storage architectures that are centralized and difficult to scale.
Modern data processing centers require storage solutions that offer high performance, scalability, simplified management, and lower costs—attributes that storage area networks (SANs) deliver perfectly. Multiple servers can access a network-created, centralized pool of block-level storage that is fast. This shared pool of storage is managed independently of the servers, allowing data processing centers to scale performance and capacity on demand.
Read on, and we will explore 9 key benefits that SAN storage brings to modern data centers.
1. Increased Performance
One of the biggest advantages of SAN storage is the high-speed connectivity it provides between servers and storage. A storage network connects servers and storage using a fiber channel, which can deliver speeds up to 64 GB/s. This level of bandwidth far surpasses traditional storage attached directly to servers. With storage networks, frequently accessed data resides in cache for lightning-quick access, while inactive data is moved to a high-capacity disk. This separation of functions optimizes performance.
2. Scalability
With SAN, scaling storage resources to meet growing demand is remarkably simple. New disk arrays can be seamlessly incorporated into the existing storage network infrastructure by simply connecting them via the fiber channel and allocating additional logical unit numbers (LUNs). This scale-out model allows limitless expansion of both performance and capacity on demand. Additional disk shelves can be provisioned without any disruption to server or application uptime.
- Traditional DAS simply cannot scale as effortlessly. With DAS, each individual server has storage capacity and I/O limitations tied directly to its onboard disk controllers and drive bays.
- Once these are fully utilized, the only option is to either upgrade to a more powerful server with greater storage capabilities or add a new server entirely. Both approaches involve application downtime and increased complexity. It also leaves existing DAS storage stranded and underutilized once a server is replaced.
- The scale-out nature of storage networks provides data centers with a simple and non-disruptive way to smoothly adapt storage to the needs of modern, demanding workloads.
- As application performance requirements grow, additional flash arrays can be added to the storage networks to improve IOPS and latency without any server reboots. And as long-term archival needs increase, high-capacity disk shelves expand usable storage terabytes without limits. This flexibility future-proofs storage infrastructures against unpredictable data growth.
With SAN, storage scaling is decoupled from server upgrades. Administrators don’t need to procure an entirely new server just to accommodate more storage. They can independently scale servers and storage at separate paces according to individual resource demands. This level of scalability and granularity streamlines infrastructure procurement cycles and budget forecasting. The seamless scaling also ensures storage never becomes a bottleneck, allowing applications to achieve their full performance potential.
3. Simplified Management
Managing hundreds or thousands of servers, each with their own direct-attached storage, becomes a nightmare very quickly. With these networks, storage is decoupled from servers and managed from a central console. This centralized management model reduces complexity and allows administrators to spend less time on routine maintenance and upgrades. Advanced features like storage virtualization and thin provisioning further simplify operations.
4. Increased Availability
High availability is a must for mission-critical data processing center workloads. With SAN storage, continuous data protection technologies like replication and snapshots ensure business continuity even in the event of server or disk failures. Distributed RAID and automated failover prevent single points of failure. This built-in redundancy at the storage layer safeguards against downtime and data loss. DAS simply cannot deliver the same foolproof availability.
5. Optimized Storage Utilization
With traditional DAS, storage is dedicated to each server, even if it remains largely unused. What is SAN’s role in this? It breaks this rigid coupling through storage virtualization. Now a single physical volume can be carved into multiple logical volumes and provisioned on demand across servers. Features like thin provisioning and tiered storage optimize utilization further. This leads to higher storage efficiency, lower overprovisioning, and ultimately cost savings.
6. Flexible Data Placement
With storage networks, data placement is no longer tied to specific servers. Storage administrators can freely move data volumes between servers without disruption. This brings tremendous flexibility. Workloads can be dynamically load-balanced across servers. Data for decommissioned servers can be migrated online to replacement servers. New application servers can be instantly provisioned with required storage. Such agility is not possible with direct-attached storage models.
7. Investment Protection
As application requirements change, data centers need the flexibility to non-disruptively upgrade servers. With DAS, storage is stranded once a server reaches end-of-life. A storage network decouples storage from servers, allowing data processing centers to seamlessly migrate data off old servers during upgrades without reconfiguring storage. This protects upfront investments in storage infrastructure and allows seamless technology refreshes.
8. Lower TCO
When all factors are considered, SAN storage delivers lower total cost of ownership compared to DAS over the long run. Shared infrastructure utilization leads to higher storage efficiency. Simplified management and automated operations reduce administrative costs. Continuous data protection and high availability prevent expensive downtime. And investment protection during server refreshes preserves storage values. Overall, it is more cost-effective for large-scale data processing centers.
9. Enhanced Data Services
Advanced data services that optimize application performance are only possible with a shared pool of block-level storage. A SAN enables centralized data services like replication, snapshots, cloning, thin provisioning, and tiered storage. It supports emerging workloads involving AI/ML, analytics and virtual desktop infrastructure that have unique performance and management needs. The service-centric model future proofs the storage infrastructure for changing application landscapes.
Final Words
Storage area networks have emerged as the preferred storage architecture for modern data centers, especially hyperscale cloud environments. The massive scalability, simplified operations, investment protection, high availability, and rich data services that a SAN provides are simply unmatched by any other technology. As data growth and the business criticality of applications continue to rise exponentially, the strategic value of SAN storage will become even more pronounced. Migrating from traditional direct-attached storage to a modern shared storage infrastructure is a no-brainer decision for forward-looking organizations.
