Difference Between SAN and NAS

The key difference between SAN and NAS is that SAN is a block level data storage while NAS is file-level data storage.

Today’s technology has advanced so much that it has made our lives a lot easier and comfortable to live in. Information technology has helped us become more effective and efficient in every aspect of day-to-day work. Everything has gone digital now, in the past people used to do their work manually and on papers and saving and organizing all of it was very difficult but now technology has made it all so simpler and easy for us to use. Advancement in the technology takes it a step further by innovating technology and even catered to our increasing needs of storing and processing large volumes of information and data. After direct storage, storage area network and network-attached storage have been introduced to make our computing related experiences more accessible.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is SAN
3. What is NAS
4. Side by Side Comparison – SAN and NAS in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is SAN?

SAN stands for Storage Area Network. It is a storage device. In other words, it is a network of storage disks. The purpose of designing storage area networks is to handle large data transfers. For that, SAN connects multiple server systems to one main storage disk. These networks use the technology of fiber channel fabrics specially designed for the communication storage needs.

There are multiple advantages of SAN. Firstly, it simplifies administration tasks and makes it easier to handle and treat all of the company’s storage. Secondly, it allows sharing data from the various machine. It saves time and effectors of the users and also increases the storage capacity utilization. In brief, Storage Area Networks are faster and reliable to access than other storage devices.

What is NAS?

NAS stands for Network-Attached Storages that are remote storage devices. NAS also provides many advantages for the user. The data access is faster and has a simple configuration. In addition to that, NAS reduce server costs and minimise connectivity cost. As a result, it increases the manageability for storing data.

Furthermore, NAS is a convenient way to storing data and information while sharing files between many computers. In brief, NAS is lower in cost and easier to the user than SAN.

What is the Difference Between SAN and NAS?

SAN vs NAS
A computer network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage.	A file-level data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients.
Stands for
Stands for Storage Area Network.	Stands for Network-Attached Storage.
Level of Data Storage
Uses Block level.	Uses file level.
Management
Managing SAN is difficult than NAS.	Managing NAS is easier than SAN.
Cost
SAN is more extensive than NAS.	NAS is less costly than Storage area networks for its users to handle and operate.
Connection Method
Only server class SCSI or Fiber Channel can connect to SAN.	Any machine that can connect to a LAN can use NFS, CIFS or HTTP protocol to connect to a NAS and share files.
Suitability
Suitable for Large business backup purposes. Suits a large scale of users.	Suitable for small-scale business backup purposes.

Summary – SAN vs NAS

Our world and technology are constantly changing, and all the time we have to keep up with the latest innovation and technology. SAN and NAS are the today’s technologies that make our work and lives easier by saving time, efforts, money and skills. The difference between SAN and NAS is that SAN is a block level data storage while NAS is file-level data storage.

Reference:

1.“Storage Area Network.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2018. Available here  
2.“Network-Attached Storage.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2018. Available here  
3.“What Is Storage Area Network (SAN).” Free Storage Tutorials, 14 Dec. 2015. Available here  

Image Courtesy:

1.’6846178647’by Silver Blue (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2.’Network-attached storage (NAS)’ (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia