Howard Goldstein Associates, Inc.

Business, Technology & Education.

Course Title: Storage Networking Solutions & Technologies

 

Vendor: Howard Goldstein Associates, Inc.        

Email: Howard.Goldstein@HGAI.Com

 

Locations: Private classes available.                   Phone: 303-554-0755

 

Duration: 2-Day Version            Coverage: ½ Day NAS and 1 ½ Day SAN

Duration: 4-Day Version            Coverage: 1 Day NAS and 3 Day SAN

 

Type: Lecture/Demo       Course URL: www.hgai.com

 

Course Description / Overview / Expected Outcome:

 

A group of students was asked recently to define a "SAN." Some replies included "storage area networks," "server area networks," "system area networks" and the instructor's favorite, "The latest thing to sell!" SAN is all of these things and more. This course takes a top-down approach in examining the information flow requirements levied on a Storage Network and how various technologies meet those requirements. It identifies why organizations are moving toward NAS and SAN. It provides a comprehensive technical examination of Fibre channel, SCSI and IP protocols, along with the role they play in a Storage Network. It compares SAN technologies with network technologies including ESCON, Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, and other LAN and WAN physical transports. The course examines the practical problems faced in the heterogeneous world where the "any to any" connectivity provided by SANs can present more problems than it solves. It identifies the techniques used to overcome these problems through the use of volume management, storage resource security and persistent binding. The course identifies the components and products that make up a NAS or SAN, examines the design and performance aspects of a SAN, and finally explores where Storage Networks are headed over the next few years.

 

Course Objectives:

 

Identify what Storage Networking is and how it relates to storage

 

Understand SAN, NAS & DAS choices and the benefits of each

 

Examine Storage and Storage Networking solutions

 

Examine Storage and Storage Networking technologies similarities and differences

 

Clarify and explain the language of Storage Networking: Terminology

 

Learn what Storage Networking solutions and technologies can and cannot do in the practical realities of implementation.

 

Examine a top-down approach to information flow requirements levied on a storage network and how various storage network technologies meet those requirements.

 

Compare Storage Networking technologies with Data Networking technologies and identify opportunities for infrastructure consolidation.

 

Examine approaches to the practical problems faced in homogeneous and heterogeneous world where the “any to any” connectivity provided by SANs can present just as many problems as it solves.

 

Examine the Storage Solutions including virtualization, data sharing, high availability and information lifecycle management.

 

Explore the many topologies and the underlying technologies and protocols that can be used in storage networks including Point-to-Point, Arbitrated Loop and Switched Fabric and the trade offs in cost/benefit where these topologies can be applied today.

 

Demystify the controversy surrounding Storage Networking’s protocol wars between Fibre Channel and IP-based storage and finally understand the differences between them and the vendor products.

 

Examine the underlying protocols that allow Storage Networking to exist including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, TCP/IP, Gigabit Ethernet and others

 

Explore the Fibre Channel technology and understand the underlying concepts behind a Fibre Channel SAN

 

Explore the technologies behind IP SANS and resolve the differences between IPFC, iFCP, FCIP, and iSCSI.

 

Examine Remote Direct Memory Access RDMA and Infiniband technology and understand the movement to system bus replacement and remote direct memory access technologies.

 

Understand the protocols that allow NAS systems to provide benefits including NFS, CIFS, HTTP, DAFS, VI, and NDMP

 

Examine the current and future trends in Storage Networking technologies and protocols and the developments that are occurring to improve the benefits that can be achieved.

 

Who Should Attend:

 

· This course is targeted towards anyone who designs, implements, manages, specifies or selects Storage Networking technologies.

· This includes IS/IT technical staff and managers, product developers, systems integrators, systems engineers and technical marketing personnel.

· Anyone who wants to understand more about storage networking solutions and technologies

· This course is designed to provide technical and management IT staff a short but comprehensive understanding of Storage Networking.

· Product and project teams that are involved with applications, systems, storage and end users will benefit from this course.

· Developers, integrators, engineers, administrators, managers, marketing personnel and others with a need for an understanding of Storage Networking will find this course extremely informative.

· Anyone involved in storage or data communications networking will understand the similarities and differences between these environments and will be in position to take on the challenges introduced by Storage Networking.

 

Prerequisites:

 

An understanding of current computer interfaces or networks is desirable, although not absolutely necessary.

 

What’s exciting about it, why it’s important, where it’s going: 

 

· It provides a one-of-a-kind tutorial with an industry subject matter expert who has real-world experience and superior presentation skills

· It provides a vendor-neutral view of storage networking with a focus leveraging your investment in network infrastructure, existing and future storage and server assets

· It separates the myth from reality of the various storage networking solutions and technologies

· It explains the technical differences between Fibre Channel and IP Storage and when to use these technologies

· It puts you in position to understand what storage networks can and cannot do for you

· It will make you more knowledgeable in dealing with the plethora of vendors of storage networking products and services

· It takes a “network” view of storage networks yet identifies how storage networks differ fundamentally from other data networks like the Internet

· It takes complex storage networking topics and breaks them down in a simple, easy-to-understand way

 

Course Outline Overview:

 

Storage Network Introduction & Concepts

Network Vs. Storage

DAS, NAS, SAN, CAS

Server to Storage:  Information Flow Requirements

What is a Physical Transport Network?

Storage Network Physical Transport Choices

Beware of Semantics

 

Basic Storage Network Technology

SNIA Shared Storage Model

Identify standards organizations

Storage Networking Myths: Hype versus Reality. 

Storage Networking Environment

Storage Technologies

 

Disk  & Tape Technology

SCSI

Storage Network Topologies and Applications

 

Storage Networking Physical Transport Technologies

Fibre Channel

IP Storage

OSI & The Internet Protocol Suite

ISCSI, iFCP, FCIP, iSNS

Infiniband

RDMA

 

Storage Networking Products and Components

 

Storage Area Network SAN and Network Attached Storage NAS

 

Storage Networking SAN Solutions

Virtualization

Storage Management

Data Management, Backup & Recovery

Continuity Management & High Availability

Storage Networking Security

System Internal Network Advances

Storage Network Design Introduction

 

Storage Network Certification Program

 

Storage Networking Futures

 

Course Summary

 

 

Course Outline Detail:

 

A.  Storage Network Introduction & Concepts

· Network Vs. Storage

· DAS, NAS, SAN, CAS

· The Requirements of Networking

· Local Area Networks

· Wide Area Networks

· A Simple Internetwork

· Why Internetwork?

· Server to Storage:  Information Flow Requirements

· What is a Physical Transport Network?

· Storage Network Physical Transport Choices

· Network Components

· Beware of Semantics

· Fundamental Concepts

· What is OSI?

· OSI Data Structures

· IPS Encapsulation

· What is Fibre Channel?

· Network Architecture Information Focus

· Network Architecture Roles

· Application Services Layer

· Transport Layer

· Transport Addressing Ports

· Internet Layer

· Names & Addresses

· Hierarchical, Routable Addressing

· Why subnet and segment?

· IP Next Generation IPng (IPV6)

· FC Address Comparison – 1 Gram

· IP Address Comparison – 1 Gram

· IP Address Comparison

· Address Assignment

· Name Service

 

B.  Storage Network Foundations

 

· Who is the SNIA Certified Professional?

· Foundations Topics

· Foundations Exam Topics

 

C.  Basic Storage Network Technology

 

· Describe storage performance and data protection strategies including RAID, caching, and connectivity technology

· Differentiate between DAS, SAN, NAS, CAS and IP Storage environments

· Describe the SNIA Shared Storage Model

· Identify standards organizations

· Wires & Protocols

· Blocks Vs. Files

· SAN to SAN over WAN

· CAS - Content Addressable Storage

· Content Addressable Storage

 

D.  Storage Networking Myths: Hype versus Reality. 

 

· San Myths

· Myth: SAN is a Technology or Product

· Myth: SAN is Fibre Channel and a Fabric Switch

· Myth: SAN is a new concept

· Myth: SANs solve all (most) distributed storage problems

· Myth: SANs are simple to implement

· Myth: Today’s technologies are SAN-Ready

· Myth: Server-less backup is key to efficient SAN backup

· Myth: SANs are, or will be heterogeneous

· Myth: SANs will replace LANs

· Myth: LANs will replace SANs

 

E.  Storage Networking Environment

 

· Storage

· Laws of Computing

· I/O Directions

· Constant Server Growth

· Constant Storage Growth

· Practical Direct Connectivity Limits – Storage Adapters

· Practical Limits on Direct Connectivity – Server Adapters

· IT Challenges

· Enterprise Issues & Concerns

· Distributed Resource Issues

· SAN Benefits

· SAN Performance vs. Distance

· The Path to Data

· Direct Attached Storage

· Channel Attached Storage

· Shared Channel Attached Storage

· External RAID Controller

· Storage Network Environment End

· Shared Storage Model & Standards

· Standards

 

F.  Storage Technologies

 

· Disk Technology

· SCSI Devices

· SCSI

· RAID and JBOD

· SCSI Anatomy

· Virtual SCSI Cables on SCSI Bus

· Virtual SCSI Cables Fibre Channel

· Shared Storage Model & Standards

· Disk & Tape

 

G.  Storage Network Topologies and Applications

 

· Bus

· Loop

· Fabric

· Hybrid

 

Storage Networking Physical Transport Technologies:

 

H.  Fibre Channel

 

· Fibre Channel SAN

· SAN Fibre Channel Introduction

· High Speed Data Communications

· Traditional Channels

· Traditional Networks

· Fibre Channel Begins

· Fibre Channel Benefits

· SAN Technology Comparisons

· Fibre Channel Standards

· Fibre Channel Organizations

· OSI & Fibre Channel

· Storage Networking Topologies

· SAN Interfaces

· IDE Bus

· SCSI Bus

· Current SCSI Topologies

· ESCON

· SAN Ports

· SAN Virtual Circuits

· Dynamic Virtual Circuits – Any to Any!

· Dynamic Virtual Circuits – Any to Any?

· Fibre Channel Node

· Nodes

· Example Fibre Channel Network

· San Adaptors