Storage Networks Explained: Basics and Application of Fibre Channel SAN, NAS, iSCSI and InfiniBand

"Storage Networks Explained has much to recommend it.... a rarity in the literature of digital data storage – a complete exposition of both the base subject matter and its applications, which at the same time offers a level of readability making it suitable as an introduction to the subject. Storage Networks Explained is also flexible. It can be read cover-to-cover, browsed, or used as a reference. I recommend Storage Networks Explained as an essential component of any active information technology library."
&emdash;Paul Massiglia, Technical Director, VERITAS Software Corporation

Storage networks will become a basic technology like databases or local area networks. According to market research, 70% of external storage devices will be connected via storage networks in 2003. The authors have hands-on experience of network storage hardware and software, they teach customers about concrete network storage products, they understand the concepts behind storage networks, and show customers how storage networks address their business needs.

Storage networks provide shared access to stored data from multiple computers and servers, thus increasing storage efficiency  and availability. They permit information management functions such as backup and recovery, data mirroring, disaster recovery, and data migration to be performed quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of system overhead.

This book explains how to use storage networks to fix malfunctioning business processes, covering the technologies as well as applications. A hot topic that will become increasingly important in the coming years.

• One of the first books to focus on using rather than building storage networks, and how to solve problems.
• Looking beyond technology and showing the true benefits of storage networks.
• Covers fibre channel SAN, Network Attached Storage, iSCSI and InfiniBand technologies.
• Contains several case studies (e.g. the example of a travel portal, protecting a critical database)
• Endorsed by the Storage Networking Industry Association.
• Written by very experienced professionals who tailored the book specifically to meet customer needs including support with supplementry material on Troppens website and Preface written by Tony Clark.

Provides basic application information key for systems administrators, database administrators and managers who need to know about the networking aspects of their systems. As well as systems architects, network managers, information management directors and decision makers.
This book also supports applications for graduate students and other relevant courses in the field.

Awarded Best System Administration Book 2005 by the Linux Journal

Ulf Troppens and Rainer Erkens are employed at IBM TotalStorage Interoperability Center in Mainz, a testing, development and demonstration laboratory for storage products and storage networks. Both authors work at the interface between technology and customers. Their duties include the testing of new products and the validation of concepts on the basis of customer environments set up in the laboratory. They present the latest hardware and software products in the field of storage networks to customers and discuss the set up test environment with them.

Ulf Tropes studied Computer Science at the University of Karlsruhe until 1995. Since 1989 he has been primarily involved in the administration of Unix systems, storage systems, data and storage networks and distributed applications. In April 2004  Ulf joined Wolfgang's team to help with the roll-out of a software for tape library virtualization.

Rainer Erkens studied Mathematics at the University of Mainz until 2000. His experience in the management of computers and the management of distributed applications goes back to 1992. Since 2000 he has been working primarily with storage systems and storage networks. In February 2004 he was appointed to Chairman of the SNIA Europe Solutions Committee.

Wolfgang Müller is currently working as a software architect in the Storage Software Development Department at IBM in Mainz, Germany, where the focus is on software development projects supporting open standards such as SMI-S/CIM/WBEM and IEEE 1244. He received his Dipl.-Inform. (FH) degree in computer science from the University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1993.