Have storage area networks come of age?

Organizations are processing and storing an exploding volume of information. Because of this, they are looking for new ways to access their data more quickly and reliably across their networks. This has led organizations to begin using storage area networks (SANs) based on fibre channel technology. SANs link storage devices (such as disks, disk arrays, and tape drives) to create a pool of storage that users can access directly. In essence, SANs uncouple storage devices from the LAN and put them on their own network. This approach relieves bandwidth congestion on the LAN and permits much faster data access than today's LAN-based storage streams. SANs also permit better storage management and more fault tolerance. SANs have traditionally used Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) technology, but now fibre channel technology is allowing SANs to transmit data at higher speeds over greater distances, which should accelerate the adoption of the storage networks. Fibre channel is also more scalable than SCSI. Fibre-channel-based SAN technology has so many advantages that it will become increasingly popular, particularly as researchers correct its problems and develop ways for it to transmit data over even longer distances.