About NAS & SAN

andieA · **Joined:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:11 am **Posts:** 17

Hello,

What is the difference between NAS and SAN storage systems and which one is better?

Thanks,
Andie

Fender&Gibson · **Joined:** Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:48 am **Posts:** 19

NAS is the older protocol. Short for Network Attached Storage. This is a TCP/IP-based storage system over Ethernet where it (NAS) has its own IP address. An application as long as it follows the IP address standard will be able to communicate to the NAS. The NAS operates on a file level, so it also has its own system to manage the users and file/security permissions.

SAN is the newer storage protocol. It is short for Storage Area Network. It was made as an answer to the slower NAS. It operates on a separate dedicated network that makes it faster to transfer data between the storage and the servers. SAN works on block level which makes it appear to the servers as if the storage were locally attached.

jay-Z · **Joined:** Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:23 am **Posts:** 3

SAN is better supposedly. It was developed as an answer to the slowness of NAS as it is accessed over the Ethernet, and network speeds are fairly limited. However, with the development of the Gigabit Ethernet that introduces blazing fast speeds over the network the NAS is becoming faster and faster.

DG40 · **Joined:** Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:57 am **Posts:** 14

Does this mean then that almost all if not all storage backup companies have SAN installed in their system? Are there companies that still use NAS?

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