1.3. The Signs of a SAN
In summary, a SAN is a combination of hardware devices, interconnect strategy, and concept. Even as the capabilities of the hardware and speed of the interconnect change, the concept will remain stable.
A collection of servers, mass storage, interconnect devices, and interconnection media constitutes a Storage Area Network, if it exhibits most of the following characteristics:
Storage is behind the server
Storage devices are connected to each other
Multiple servers are connected to the storage pool
Heterogeneous servers may be connected to the storage pool
Fibre Channel connectivity (fiber optic cable and FC host bus adapters) is used
Fibre Channel hubs and switches are present
Multiple paths to devices exist
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