A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated network that
provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily
used to enhance storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and
optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like
locally attached devices to the operating system. A SAN typically has its own
network of storage devices that are generally not accessible through the local
area network (LAN) by other devices. The cost and complexity of SANs dropped in
the early 2000s to levels allowing wider adoption across both enterprise and
small to medium sized business environments.
A SAN does not provide file abstraction, only block-level
operations. However, file systems built on top of SANs do provide file-level
access, and are known as SAN filesystems or shared disk file systems..
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