Introduction to Storage Networking Evolution or Revolution?
Evolution or Revolution? Unlimited CPU scalability
Limited CPU scalability Proprietary closed system
User interface
Compute power
Storage
Unlimited Storage scalability Open system
User interface
Compute power
Storage
LAN Mainframe
System concepts remain the same—implementation evolves Proprietary environment
simplifies system management
SAN
Open systems environment creates greater flexibility and scalability but presents new management challenges
The system architectures enabled by SANs start to resemble the mainframe architecture:
Storage virtualization can create a unified storage pool, just like mainframe storage cabinets. Tightly integrated server clusters and blade architectures integrate microcomputer CPUs into a unified computing resource. The user sees a “single system image” of both servers and storage.
The basic conceptual model of a computing system has not changed, but the implementation of that model has evolved: Monolithic systems simplify system management but have limited flexibility. Today’s SAN-enabled computing architectures consist of smaller, easily re-deployable components that can be used as “building blocks” to create highly scalable systems. This provides much more flexibility for the IT organization, but integrating and managing multi-vendor environments creates new challenges.