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Ensuring Business Continuance via High Availability SANs March 6, 2003 Summary and Conclusions Over the next decade, the IT industry will begin rebuilding its data management systems to bring data to the core of the enterprise. The result of this is a transformation to truly information-driven business. However, in order to ensure that their most valuable and continually growing asset (data) is well managed and continually available throughout this transformation, companies must take extraordinary measures. Enterprises face the daunting challenges of system reliability and availability, fast recovery from any changes or scheduled downtime, data security, scalability and interoperability, and the need to realize a lower total cost of ownership as they evolve into core-to-edge information-driven enterprises. Business continuance can be assured by giving the highest priority to effective data protection as well as by aiming directly at the center of these challenges. While even the most innocuous lapse in protection can impact careers, data loss due to failed or missing back-ups can devastate profitability. The implementation of a Storage Area Network (SAN) centralizes and protects critical storage and backup tape resources that house enterprise data. SANs offer an enterprise-wide solution to business continuance challenges, enable more reliable and frequent back-ups, allow for more rapid access to data across the enterprise, and provide true, enterprise-wide system management at the core. Finally, centralized data protection through SAN implementation is the clear answer for safeguarding corporate data at a time of unparalleled growth and transformation in the enterprise. A central back-up mechanism speeds recovery, improves reliability, and ensures better protection -- all at a lower cost of ownership -- by maximizing the enterprise's existing IT investments and further assures successful business continuance initiatives. John Vacca is an information technology consultant and internationally known author based in Pomeroy, Ohio. Since 1982, John has authored 39 books and more than 485 articles in the areas of advanced storage, computer security and aerospace technology. John was also a configuration management specialist, computer specialist, and the computer security official for NASA's space station program (Freedom) and the International Space Station Program, from 1988 until his early retirement from NASA in 1995. John was also one of the security consultants for the MGM movie titled : "AntiTrust," which was released on January 12, 2001. John can be reached on the Internet at jvacca@hti.net. » See All Articles by Columnist John Vacca