SAN And NAS Converge

Those of you who have been around long enough may remember the old commercials for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Two people, one eating chocolate and the other peanut butter, accidentally bump into each other, comingling their favorite snacks in the process. Although initially upset, they soon discover the two treats actually taste better together. I am reminded of those commercials when listening to the ongoing debates over SAN (storage area network) and NAS (network attached storage) technologies.

For years the SAN/NAS debate seemed to center on which technology was "better." So, vendors spent their time spouting the benefits and advantages of their respective technologies. But at some point, they decided the two technologies might actually complement each other. We were suddenly hearing: "It was never an issue of SAN versus NAS. Both technologies have their advantages, and someday most businesses will have both." It is hard to say when that day will finally be upon us, but that hasn't stopped some VARs from getting an early jump on the technology convergence.

Management Issues Drive Convergence
One VAR that is already involved with integrating SAN and NAS is Allied Computer Group (Milwaukee). Allied is an authorized Compaq StorageWorks (SAN) reseller, but has sold a large number of NAS appliances as well. John Jensen, president and COO of Allied, believes the explosive growth in data will continue to drive both markets. "Companies are having to deal with growing amounts of data," he said. "At the same time, those companies need to quickly access their data in an organized and efficient manner."

Jensen believes issues revolving around the management of storage have been the driving forces behind SAN and NAS integration. Unfortunately, end users (midsized companies in particular) are confused about network storage in general and the benefits it can bring. They are used to buying additional servers to accommodate their growing storage demands. They don't know what technologies are available to them that will best meet their needs.

"Now more than ever, VARs must be well versed in the benefits of both SAN and NAS," Jensen said. A NAS environment provides file access to the data, thus taking the place of existing file servers. It is a good solution for general purpose storage. A SAN environment, on the other hand, provides block access to the storage, making it a good fit for large database files. "VARs have to know when it is best to use SAN, NAS, or both," Jensen insisted.

One Environment, Two Technologies
The type of environment best suited to SAN and NAS integration is one where the customer has many files (with storage needs continuing to grow) and a large database that manages those files. Allied has done a lot of work in the healthcare vertical, and the storage needs in that market illustrate why many businesses need to integrate both technologies.

Hospitals are storing increasing volumes of images, including digital X-rays, CT (computed tomography) scans, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans. The images themselves are single files and are good candidates for a NAS solution. The sheer volume of those images makes scalability a concern. Scalability is also handled well with a NAS solution. However, as doctors and nurses access those images, the pointers to those files and all supporting data are best handled in a database, which requires a SAN environment.

Allied had a customer who required doctors to use a telephone handset to enter verbal notes into patient files. Although the notes would be best stored on a NAS device, the database that manages all of the notes would be best stored on a SAN. Government and finance are two other markets where both SAN and NAS technologies can be used together. Jensen noted that long-term, archival storage should be another target application for VARs.

Not As Easy As It Sounds
While the need for integrated SAN and NAS environments might be clear, the actual process of integrating them is anything but. Jensen acknowledges that SAN and NAS convergence is a new concept and one that remains difficult. Although true SAN/NAS convergence is a couple of years away, same-vendor convergence is already a reality. Allied has also been installing SAN and NAS solutions from different vendors, and instructing customers on how to best manage the two environments.

"A lot of time must be spent performing analyses on what a mixed SAN and NAS environment will mean to the customer," said Jensen. The analysis typically involves discovering what kind of management needs the customer will have over time and then designing a system that will address both the needs and capabilities of the customer. "You can design the best system in the world," said Jensen, "but if the customer doesn't have the capability to manage it, it's not a good solution."

Same-vendor SAN/NAS integration occurs when a company with a SAN from a large vendor such as EMC, IBM, or Compaq decides to add NAS capabilities to the system. VARs can get to a fully converged SAN/NAS environment by simply purchasing a NAS head unit from the SAN vendor and installing it. When the customer opts to go with a same-vendor solution, Allied can provide value by ensuring that the customer is integrating the storage solutions properly and that management and backup and restore functions are operating properly. Allied is also instrumental in integrating newly acquired applications (e.g. enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management) into the storage environment. This means making sure data generated by newly added applications are stored in the appropriate places. Allied also makes sure disaster recovery solutions are adequate and upgraded as needed.

If a customer is not using SAN and NAS from the same vendor, then there is no simple solution to the problem. "In that situation, the solution will actually involve managing two discrete environments," said Jensen. "We will set up the solutions and ensure the customer's storage professionals have the expertise to manage it." The large vendors are currently working on standards that will eventually make interoperability between vendors a reality. Multivendor solutions require even more of VARs in terms of planning disaster recovery and backup strategies compared to same-vendor solutions.

The Convergence Opportunity
According to Jensen, SAN and NAS convergence will be an opportunity for those resellers that are keeping up with the evolution in storage. Unfortunately, many VARs remain mired in the past, still servicing small networks and desktop issues. "Storage is a quickly evolving market," he said. "To play in the storage game, VARs and integrators have to be able to do their job extremely well. To do that, you have to become a storage expert."

iSCSI (Internet SCSI [small computer system interface], a new Internet protocol [IP]-based storage networking standard) is one technology that will drive the momentum behind SAN and NAS convergence. "As iSCSI starts to roll out, you will be able to do more SAN functions in an IP environment instead of having to deploy Fibre Channel," said Jensen. "Right now iSCSI is like a bridge product, used to bridge Ethernet environments and Ethernet servers into a SAN. In a year or two systems will have Ethernet running all the way through to the tape drives and disk controllers, thereby eliminating the need for a SAN environment." Jensen believes that trend will allow everything to converge onto the same network, allowing customers to have more of a mixed environment between SAN and NAS, with customer data in one place being accessed via different protocols.

We're sure the day will come when most, if not all, companies will have SAN and NAS coexisting and interoperating. When that day comes, VARs that are knowledgeable in both areas will be the ones training end users and integrating their storage environments. It's not too early to start getting educated and up to speed on both technologies.