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A storage area network (SAN) gives your servers fast, shared access to block storage over a dedicated network. It is the standard choice for databases, virtual machine clusters and other business-critical workloads.
Fortuna Data designs and supplies SAN storage from IBM, Lenovo, NetApp and Seagate, with Fibre Channel, iSCSI and NVMe connectivity. We have been helping UK organisations with storage since 1994.
SAN stands for storage area network. It is a dedicated, high-speed network that connects servers to shared storage arrays.
A SAN provides block-level storage. Each server sees its share of the storage (a LUN or volume) as if it were a local disk, so it can run databases, hypervisors and applications on it directly.
Because the storage is shared and centrally managed, you can add capacity, move workloads between servers and protect data without reconfiguring each server.
A SAN is not the same as NAS. NAS shares files over a normal network; a SAN shares blocks over a dedicated storage network. See our guide: SAN vs NAS.
A typical SAN has four parts:
Most SANs are built with no single point of failure: two controllers in the array, two switches and two paths from each server (multipathing). If a path fails, traffic carries on over the other one.
| Protocol | How it connects | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre Channel (FC) | Dedicated Fibre Channel switches and HBAs. 32Gb/s and 64Gb/s are common today; Gen 8 128Gb/s switches are now available. | Low-latency, high-availability workloads where a separate storage network is preferred |
| iSCSI | Standard Ethernet switches and network cards (10, 25 or 100GbE) | Cost-effective SANs using familiar Ethernet networking |
| NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe/FC, NVMe/TCP) | Runs over Fibre Channel or Ethernet using the NVMe protocol | All-flash arrays where you want the lowest latency from NVMe drives |
Many arrays support more than one protocol, so you can start with iSCSI or Fibre Channel and add NVMe over Fabrics later. Read more: Fibre Channel storage and iSCSI storage.
| SAN | NAS | DAS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access type | Block | File | Block |
| Connection | Dedicated storage network | Normal LAN | Direct to one server |
| Shared between servers | Yes | Yes (file shares) | No (usually one server) |
| Typical use | Databases, VMware/Hyper-V clusters | File shares, home folders, backups | Single servers, small sites |
Not sure which you need? Our SAN vs NAS guide explains the differences in more detail.
Tell us about your servers, workloads and capacity, and we will recommend the right array and connectivity.
Related: All-flash NVMe storage
All-flash arrays with IBM Storage Virtualize, FlashCore Modules and safeguarded copy.
DE, DM and DG series arrays for block and unified storage.
We also supply the switches, HBAs, cables and support needed to build a complete SAN. Tell us what you have today and we will design around it.
SAN storage is shared block storage that servers reach over a dedicated, high-speed storage network. Each server sees its share of the storage as a local disk.
No. A SAN shares storage at block level over a dedicated network and is used for databases and virtual machines. NAS shares files over a normal network and is used for file shares.
Fibre Channel uses a separate, dedicated network and is often chosen for the most demanding workloads. iSCSI runs over standard Ethernet, which can lower cost and complexity. The right choice depends on your workloads, existing network and skills.
NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) extends the NVMe protocol used by fast flash drives across a network, such as Fibre Channel (NVMe/FC) or Ethernet (NVMe/TCP). It reduces latency compared with older protocols.
Clusters usually need shared storage so virtual machines can move between hosts. A SAN is a common way to provide it. Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is an alternative that uses storage inside the servers.
It depends on capacity, performance, protocol and support level. Contact us with your requirements and we will provide a quote.
Speak to a storage specialist about your SAN project. We will help you compare options and give you a clear UK quote.
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