1) NAS will appear on your computer as either a server or a shared folder. From this abstraction comes one of NAS’ biggest advantages: simplicity. NAS – Network Attached Storage. But you pay for it. What is data and why should I care about whether my data lives on a DAS, NAS or SAN? Many NAS devices now offer performance capacities once reserved for SAN. Almost no home users have a solid business case for a SAN, although many power users at home make great use of NAS technology. Portable hard drive and desktop RAID arrays fall into this category, and they connect to a single client machine using USB, Thunderbolt, and before that FireWire or SAS. 1. SAN is associated with structured workloads such as databases, while NAS is generally associated with unstructured data such as video and medical images. In fact, a NAS might look like a server to most people. A SAN storage can be alloted to a server, which in tern can share it with other's using NAS. Typically, SMBs would be better served utilizing a NAS device, whereas larger entities with the resources to invest in the architecture and management would profit from employing a SAN. Without a host layer, there is nothing to control the files flying in and out of the storage layer, and files will literally crash into each other, creating data traffic jams in the fabric layer. Also, with the rapid improvements in disk storage technology, NAS devices now offer capacities and performance that once were only possible with SAN. Networks not necessary, doesn’t use IP addresses . My first paid job in the film industry was setting up an XSAN and five edit bays at a broadcaster in Utah. The differences between NAS and SAN can be seen when comparing their cabling and how they're connected to the system, as well as how other devices communicate with them. Obviously, the more directly you can access the media, the faster the performance (fewer software layers to get in the way and slow things down). SAN vs NAS: Convergence The advantages of SAN are inspiring some sellers to provide SAN-like products at a lesser price, mainly by avoiding the high cost of Fibre Channel networking. The major advantage of NAS is that it excludes the need of using multiple servers through server consolidation. Given that the network-attached storage device is attached to the network, the other devices on that network have easy access to it if proper permissions are set up. Employees access files on the NAS as if they were stored locally. I have gained a bit more IT experience in that time (mostly just swearing at AVID nexis servers). Due to its structure, a NAS has limited scalability and are LAN dependent in terms of performance. The third option which you’re most likely familiar with is DAS also known as Direct Attached Storage. NAS is the better option if you require the ability to clone large numbers of virtual hosts. NAS applications, while perhaps more limited in scope, are still often used in large organizations as a local server for smaller teams within the group, or for large teams with less demanding applications, like spreadsheets and smaller databases. Not only is a NAS easier to deploy to an existing network, but it’s usually less exp… Connect one or more NAS devices to scale up data access in a network. Unlike SAN, NAS storage controllers partition the storage and then own the file system. But that is no longer true, with fast ethernet and higher quality servers (cough, the Jellyfish, cough) on the market. In addition, while SAN focuses on high performance and low latency, NAS focuses on ease of use, manageability, scalability, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Before going directly to the SAN vs NAS comparison, let’s see the technologies actually are. A SAN commonly uses Fibre Channel interconnects and connects a set of storage devices that share data with one another. Transitioning from Fibre Channel to the same IP-based approach of NAS. A NAS is like having access to folders, so plan accordingly. Some SAN products have made the transition from Fibre Channel to the same IP-based approach that NAS devices use. You can create virtual SANs that are defined by a software program. Faster, more performant and better latency over SAN / NAS Converged SAN/NAS are a much smaller part of the market than distinct deployments but show steady growth. NAS usually appears to the client machine as a server, and SAN just appears as a mountable drive. Why are all computer systems so acronym heavy? The storage controllers allocate physical storage for NAS vs SAN processing. These two industry factors have led to a partial convergence of NAS and SAN approaches to network storage, effectively creating high-speed, high-capacity, and centrally located network devices. It’s the typical client-server architecture. Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. If you’re working alone or in a small team with only two or three editors, having direct-attached storage, like a G-Raid or Promise Pegasus or OWC Thunderbay (apologies to all the other fine vendors out there) on each machine is super common. Basically the host layer and the storage layer are built into the same box. How can the same three letters, in a different order, make such a huge difference in cost, performance, reliability, and general headachiness? They are connected through the Fabric Layer, the networking devices like switches, routers, and cables that connect the storage disks to the third layer, and to the individual client machines. What is the difference between NAS, DAS and SAN? SANs are more complicated than that though, generally consisting of three “layers” to create the system. Network Attached Storage (NAS) is more abstracted than SAN storage. A storage area network is a dedicated, high-performance storage system that transfers block-level data between servers and storage devices. SAN vs NAS Summary: Difference Between SAN and NAS is that storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed network with the sole purpose of providing storage to other servers to which it is attached. Both in cost of the pieces to put one together, and in the billable hours of the IT person you have to have in your organization to maintain one. 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