The number of Internet users is rapidly approaching the three billion mark – close to half the world’s population. As more and more people access the Internet for business and recreational reasons, the amount of data that needs to be stored is increasing exponentially.
Email, for example, produces more data worldwide than new web pages. This, combined with the rise in ecommerce transactions, has resulted in a significant increase in the movement of storable data across IP (internet Protocol) networks. New, more effective ways of storing and maintaining this data need to be found.
Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) is one such solution to this growing problem.
What is iSCSI?
iSCSI is a transport layer protocol that works on top of the TCP (Transport Control Protocol) and which describes how Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) packets should be transported over a TCP/IP network. Together with Fiber Channel Tunneling, it is widely considered a key approach to storage data transmission.
The iSCSI protocol was ratified in 2003, and was a main component in the rapid development of the storage area network (SAN) market. Whereas a fiber channel SAN is very expensive, and requires highly specialized knowledge and skills to properly install and configure, an ISCSI SAN can be implemented using regular Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) and switches, and can run on an existing network.
How Does It Work?
ISCSI SAN works by transporting block-level data between the iSCSI initiator on a server and the iSCSI target on a storage device. Its main appeal lies in the way server virtualization makes use of storage pools, which are accessible to all the hosts within the cluster.
What Does This Mean to My Storage Network?
In a nutshell, the simple, yet powerful technology behind iSCSI helps to provide a low-cost, high-speed, long-distance storage solution for service providers, websites, business enterprises and other organizations.
Other benefits include:
- * Because it is built on stable and familiar standards, your IT staff will be familiar with the technology, thus eliminating the need for specialist personnel.
- * Ethernet transmissions have no practical distance limitations as they can travel easily over the global IP network.
Mass Mountain SAN systems virtualize a hardware based RAID storage array into usable targets that can be distributed over your physical or virtual servers on your local or remote networks. Visit us at www.massmountain.com for more information.
