SAN storage solutions provide businesses with the ability to store and access data quickly and securely. Learn more about SAN storage solutions now.
Storage area network arrays power data-intensive enterprise applications and allow businesses to pool storage from multiple devices. Advances in SAN technology have made storage networking a strong choice for supporting mission-critical workloads and connecting distributed business applications. The following SAN arrays offer features like multi-protocol support, data protection, and customer support.
Best SAN storage arrays
Dell EMC PowerMax is the high-end storage offering from the massive Dell storage portfolio. The Dell EMC PowerMax family offers high levels of performance and scale using next-generation storage class memory (SCM) and high-speed SAN infrastructure.
The solution targets mission-critical apps with end-to-end NVMe, real-time machine learning, and a wealth of data services. It also improves storage efficiency with a guaranteed data reduction of almost four to one. Dell also offers cloud mobility: users can move data from PowerMax to AWS, Azure, and Dell EMC ECS cloud environments.
Dell customers have the option to pay for technology over a set amount of time or to pay as they use. Pay-per-use is good for varied workloads; set payment plans help businesses with consistent budget needs.
Read more about storage area network security.
NetApp all-flash FAS (AFF) arrays offer both NAS and SAN functionality. NetApp also has an all-SAN array (ASA) configuration option, NetApp ASA AFF. NetApp offers six nines of availability.
NetApp SAN solutions are intended to be able to support Oracle and SAP applications, which are often data-intensive workloads that require speed and heavy processing. NVMe storage with flexible access over Ethernet transports such as NVMe/TCP and NVMe/RoCE can also address modern NoSQL and high-performance computing workloads and distributed file systems. High IOPS and low latency also support mission-critical applications in these environments.
NetApp customers will need to purchase an AFF solution and then configure ASA on top of it. Contact NetApp sales for AFF array pricing.
The Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) includes the G series, F series, 5000 series, and E Series. The newest series, E, is a mid-range enterprise storage solution that supports both NVMe and SAS drives and encryption for data at rest. Hitachi Vantara’s high-end and midrange storage systems leverage a common architecture and operating system, providing a simplified management and protection experience.
Customers can select their payment model through Hitachi’s payment solution EverFlex. Options include direct purchase, lease, and pay-per-use. Contact Hitachi Vantara for more specific pricing details.
Pure Storage offers two arrays: FlashArray//X is aimed at high performance while FlashArray//C is the high-capacity product. Depending on the application and environment, one array will be preferable. Each are all-flash NVMe arrays, with NVMe-oF functionality.
These arrays serve needs ranging from departmental to large-scale enterprise deployments. They provide performance, reliability, and availability for mission-critical operations—both block and file. FlashArray//C is focused more on consolidating workloads with consistent all-flash NVMe performance and data protection.
Pure Storage pricing for individual FlashArray solutions is available from the vendor. Alternatively, Pure Storage customers can use Evergreen//One, Pure’s storage-as-a-service offering, to manage their storage environments if they have multiple Pure solutions.
Like Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has accumulated a lot of different storage array vendors over the years. Its extensive portfolio includes HPE Primera, Nimble Storage, 3PAR, and XP series, some of which are the remains of storage and SAN startup pioneers.
Primera targets high-end storage arrays and Tier 0 mission-critical workloads. HPE storage arrays include support for NVMe media, peer persistence, VMware vVOLs, Kubernetes, and container automation. Users can manage Primera storage from Greenlake, HPE’s cloud operations platform, a beneficial capability for organizations that use both Primera and HPE Alletra.
HPE has financing available through HPE Financial Services (HPEFS). Potential customers can request a quote for specific pricing information.
IBM continues to provide traditional SAN switches and directors while also embracing newer technologies such as all-flash in its FlashSystem and hybrid arrays. There are many arrays to choose from, including the high-end DS8900F for primary storage workloads.
The entire product portfolio utilizes a common storage operating system, common APIs, and common management to simplify integration and architectural design. They are also easy to integrate with the massive family of IBM hardware, middleware, and software offerings. Because IBM SAN Volume Controller supports multiple different storage solutions, teams that use SVC can use a variety of storage systems in one network.
IBM has both a straight pricing model with four different tiers and a storage-as-a-service offering. Contact IBM for a specific quote.
The Dell EMC PowerVault ME4 Series is more aimed at affordability, lacking the extreme performance of some of the higher-end arrays. It provides SAN and direct-attached storage (DAS) and is optimized to run a variety of mixed workload applications, physical and virtual, mainly for small and mid-sized businesses.
DAS can be used to consolidate block storage, support data intensive applications, take advantage of intelligent data management, or optimize virtual environments. Teams can add more storage capacity through Disk Array Enclosures. PowerVault comes with distributed RAID for faster drive rebuild times.
Dell has detailed PowerVault ME4 pricing on its website, depending on the specific array and customization choices like hard drives.
Read about our picks for Fibre Channel hardware for SAN deployments.
Storage area networks are good choices for the following enterprise environments and use cases:
Network-attached storage allows businesses to store and pool large numbers of files and access them in a single location. NAS is particularly beneficial for enterprises with heavy file storage needs. Examples include healthcare providers with customer medical records and financial services organizations that store forms.
Additionally, NAS systems enable file sharing between devices. If your teams consistently share files, NAS is beneficial. Scale-out NAS systems can also be useful for big data storage and analytics, though you’ll need a high-performance system for any mission-critical big data applications. Note that NAS systems transmit data more slowly than SAN overall.
Broadly speaking, NAS devices and systems are less expensive than a SAN. While this can vary depending on the size and quality of the NAS versus the SAN, NAS tends to be a more affordable solution, as well as easier to deploy.
Storage area networks are beneficial for enterprise-grade backup procedures. SANs help businesses back up storage systems that are on the same network. Although backing up the entire SAN takes time and system memory, it also allows organizations to store a whole network’s worth of data in remote data centers. Although this level of backup requires significant time and system resources, it’s an important feature for large businesses with multiple storage arrays.
SANs can also support databases that hold data for mission-critical applications. Because of storage networks’ low latency, they can meet the quick access requirements for databases that support organizations’ most data-intensive workloads. SANs typically have lower latencies than NAS systems.
Some organizations use both NAS and SAN depending on their storage needs.
Learn more about the differences between NAS and SAN in enterprise storage environments.
To select a SAN vendor, consider how its features, integrations, and management capabilities can fit your specific business needs. The following selection criteria will help your organization narrow down suitable SAN arrays:
Storage networking helps businesses pool data from multiple storage systems, decreasing information silos, and use that data to support their most important applications. Modern SAN technologies like NVMe-oF allow organizations to rapidly share data across large environments like data centers.
Although SAN storage solutions require both personnel and financial investment to successfully implement, they’re worthwhile for enterprises with virtual environments, large databases, and intensive backup procedures. Consider one of our picks for SAN setups if your organization needs a more efficient way to transfer and store data.
Read about SAN trends next.
Drew Robb is a contributing writer for Datamation, Enterprise Storage Forum, eSecurity Planet, Channel Insider, and eWeek. He has been reporting on all areas of IT for more than 25 years. He has a degree from the University of Strathclyde UK (USUK), and lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
Enterprise Storage Forum offers practical information on data storage and protection from several different perspectives: hardware, software, on-premises services and cloud services. It also includes storage security and deep looks into various storage technologies, including object storage and modern parallel file systems. ESF is an ideal website for enterprise storage admins, CTOs and storage architects to reference in order to stay informed about the latest products, services and trends in the storage industry.
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