Building Storage Networks [Paperback]

Marc Farley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2000 | Series: Network Professional's Library

Advanced networks enable the sharing of enormous amounts of information within and between organizations. This text covers the areas fundamental to the effective management and storage of such data, with a special emphasis on SANs - a radical approach to storage - and case studies.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Building Storage Networks offers an excellent introduction to the burgeoning field of storage networks.

A few years ago, someone pulled me aside, looked me in the eye, and informed me that the future was storage. I felt like young Ben Braddock in The Graduate, being told the future was plastics. While the average IT engineer isn't dealing with Mrs. Robinson, he or she does need to manage a staggering amount of data.

Storage devices have been around as long as computers. From cassettes or tape drives to multigigabyte hard drives, the growth of storage has gone hand in hand with the growth of computers, and storage capacity has risen dramatically. Even 10 years ago, industry professionals touted the phrase "disk is cheap," effectively writing off storage as a commodity--and this was when hard drives were 120MB or less. During the last decade, continuing improvements in storage technology coincided with the explosion of the Internet, creating a huge demand for reliable, large-scale storage systems. Most businesses have recognized that data is a critical part of their IT systems, what author Marc Farley calls an "independent asset," equal in stature to applications and other system software.

Building Storage Networks gives information professionals the basic skills to understand modern storage technologies. The author argues that the common storage types SAN (Storage Area Network) and NAS (Network Attached Storage) are two different manifestations of a common set of principles, which all professionals should understand no matter which solution they implement.

After an in-depth discussion of his three key storage concepts--wiring, storing, and filing--Farley fleshes out the role of storage in today's corporate networks. This includes the details of storage implementation, different cabling and communication options, backup management, and future developments (e.g., InfiniBand).

This book is easily accessible to intermediate readers familiar with basic networking topologies and computer terminology. A healthy number of illustrations are used to effectively communicate complex topics. At the end of each chapter is a comprehensive summary, followed by several exercises, allowing the reader to fully grasp various storage concepts before proceeding.

Building Storage Networks can be used as an entry point for those wishing to learn about modern storage technologies, or as a reference for IT professionals already knee-deep in storage networks. However, almost all storage issues are considered in the abstract, without explicit reference to a particular vendor's hardware. Although an occasional reference is made to a specific product, the author sets out to educate the reader on storage issues, not to replace the manual for a particular piece of storage hardware. --Pete Ostenson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Develop large capacity, high availability network storage solutions. Plan and design robust, flexible, and scalable storage systems to meet the demands of your enterprise and Web site. Building Storage Networks covers fundamental topics such as network I/O, RAID, and network backup and provides valuable insight into the latest storage technologies, including Storage Area Networks (SAN) and Network Attached Storage (NAS). Detailed technical information and analyses guide you through enterprise needs assessment, solution identification, and technology implementation. Special Storage Networks blueprints provide sample schematics and architectures to visually reinforce important concepts. Understand the complete I/O path from application to storage device; Design and construct SANs in an enterprise; Set up high availability disk subsystems; Configure network backup and SAN backup technologies, including advanced media managers and serverless backup; use Fibre Channel technologies, architectures, and products; Implement Network Attached Storage file systems, protocols, and internal operations; Determine the role of Ethernet in storage networks; Build scalable storage networks to support 24 x 7 Web sites; Enable Internet storage services including Web-based backup, virtual storage, Microsoft Office 2000 Web folders and WebDAV.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 590 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1st edition (January 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072120509
• ISBN-13: 978-0072120509
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Internet & Networking

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Complete Reference Book. More than need be., January 5, 2001

By 

Shane B. Milburn (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Storage Networks (Paperback)

Building Storage Networks is a very complete reference into storage. This book covers it all. If you know nothing about storage, by the time you get through the 590 pages you will have a complete knowledge of storage.

The 'Blueprint' section is somewhat confusing, especially if you are not storage savvy. I have been building storage systems for several years now and had to read the blueprints several times to fully understand them. They could have been done better.

Overall the book is good reference material, but it was not what I was expecting. To me, it appears the author started out with good intentions, but could not decide what 'extra' information could/should be left out. He could have just summarized some topics. There are numerous books on RAID, SCSI, etc that the author should have just referenced at the end of each chapter. This would have cut the size of book down considerably.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Performance in Every Way, February 22, 2000

By 

Mike Hardy (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Storage Networks (Paperback)

Where does one get started in understanding the impact of storage area networks on conventional direct attach and network attach storage architectures? How are they similar, can they be combined, or are they different all together? As a professional in the storage industry with responsibility for answering these questions to those around me, I have found this book to be the ultimate resource. Not only does it describe in detail what today defines a storage area network, but it also fills in areas relating to network topologies, protocols, and general server I/O while giving a complete context in which decisions can begin to be formed.If you are in any way responsbile for storage infrastructure, or in planning products to enable networked storage, this is the first book you should buy. It has the breadth to provide your foundation, and suffucient depth to allow questions to be asked. You'll read other books, but like a good textbook, this is the reference you want on your shelf while you explore this complex and rewarding topic.Mike HardyVP Business DevelopmentChaparral Network Storage

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Building Storage Networks, February 1, 2000

By 

Mike Downing (Erie, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Storage Networks (Paperback)

The storage industry is colliding with the networking industry. And while the collision is providing lots of opportunity for both industries, it's also leaving much confusion in its wake. For example, What's the difference between SAN and NAS? What is the role of Fibre Channel? How does Ethernet fit into storage networks?

I found that Marc Farley's Building Storage Networks provides answers to these questions. The book is written for IT administrators, and covers such additional topics as network I/O, RAID, and network backup.

The book is half resource manual and half textbook, meaning that certain topics can be looked up in the index--like a resource manual. At the same time, the book can be read like a textbook, with the reader moving from point to point without becoming completely baffled by jargon.

I would say that anyone interested in building and maintaining storage networks should read this book.

Mike Downing, Editor, Mass Storage News