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- A storage area network can be easier to manage than other storage systems. By consolidating information into one easily accessible place, it becomes easier to access information while also making it simple to increase capacity as and when required.
- Automation of routine tasks. Routine tasks such as a backup can be automated so that administrators do not have to schedule their own time in order to make sure that backups are completed.
- Increased efficiency. Organisations with a number of locations and data storage locations can maximise the storage according to who needs it rather than where the information is stored. This means that storage can be used more efficiently as resources can be allocated where they are need most. The information can be made to appear as if it is in one, single repositry.
- Storage can be increased easily. It is possible to increase storage without it impacting an organisation’s network performance. Often, upgrades can interfere with the network performance or even lead to an element of down-time meaning that upgrades need to be conducted late at night or at weekends.
- Better performance. Storage devices are purely dedicated to storing information, leaving the servers within a network to be used solely to process information and applications.
- Speed of access. Storage area networks are specifically designed for one purpose – to provide storage and fast access to this data. As a result, SANs are far faster than typical servers and storage facilities. It is not necessary to purchase a server with a SAN because they are a stand-alone system, so this once again potentially reduces the cost.
- Data can be passed from one source of storage, e.g. disk and tape, across to a SAN directly rather than across a network. This means that less data is sent across the network and is therefore a more efficient way of using the servers or a network’s computing power.
- Maintenance. Because SAN work independently of the organisation’s servers, it means that if there are server issues or if maintenance is being carried out on the server(s), personnel can still access critical data on the SAN, and independently of the network, i.e. any work carried out will not impact the users of the network.
- Availability. Because data can be replicated easily, should one server or element of storage fail, the data will still be available to users. This increases the resilience of the network and is especially important in computing environments where data is viewed as mission critical.
- Better manageability. Because the storage area network can be ‘seen’ easily, it becomes much easier to manage because other storage systems are hidden by the servers thereby making the visibility of data difficult. This is not the case with a SAN.
- Management tools. Monitoring tools can automatically find and fix any faults without the need for specialist technical personnel to be involved. Some can even alert the support department that there is a problem. Many systems are even able to remove duplicate information, e.g. a number of copies of the same word document. These duplicates can takes up a large amount of storage and as a result can have an expensive overhead.
- A storage area network can be managed from anywhere using the internet browser. So even if someone is not near the location of a SAN and some work needs to be carried out, as long as they have access to the internet they can make the necessary changes.
- A SAN can include both disk and tape so it maximises existing technologies and assets. Tapes are often used for backup because they are relatively inexpensive compared to other media. A SAN can also use other technologies including optical jukeboxes, tape libraries, and disk arrays
- A storage area network can be accessed by different computing environments or operating systems. This means that Mac users and devices operating Linux can still access the full functionality of a SAN.
- Disaster recovery. All important or critical information stored on an organisation’s computer system can be copied in real-time to another storage system located at another building. This ensures that if there are any major problems, e.g. fire, flood, users can still access information (albeit at another companies premises), within minutes rather than hours or perhaps days.
- A storage area network can be used in conjunction with Network Attached Storage. Because a SAN can communicate with a wide variety of storage devices including a NAS, it is extremely flexible and makes the most of existing infrastructure.