SAN (storage-area network)
Basically, a SAN is a specialized network that enables fast, reliable access among servers and external or independent storage resources.
In a SAN, a storage device is not the exclusive property of any one server. Rather, storage devices are shared among all networked servers as peer resources. Just as a LAN can be used to connect clients to servers, a SAN can be used to connect servers to storage, servers to each other and storage to storage.
A SAN does not need to be a physically separate network, either. It can be a dedicated subnetwork, carrying only the business-critical I/O traffic between servers and storage devices. A SAN, for example, would not carry general-purpose traffic such as e-mail or other end-user applications. This type of net avoids the unacceptable trade-offs inherent in a single network for all applications, such as the need for dedicated storage devices for each server and burdening a LAN with storage and archival activity.
From How to use the network as a storage device, Network World Tech Update, 02/09/98.
Also see Fibre Channel.
Additional resources
Audio primer: SANs
Listen to a more detailed introduction to SANs
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