Dell White Paper Sample

Deploying SANs introduces a number of challenges for IT administrators. As the virtualized environment scales, for example, SANs require multiple networks; each network calls for the addition of ports and cables from each server, which can increase costs and power consumption. Servers and storage require advanced integration and management to realize the full benefits of virtualization, further increasing costs. And a virtualized, consolidated infrastructure also creates increased I/O requirements: running multiple virtual machines means supporting multiple I/O streams, and the aggregate of the streams increases the I/O bandwidth and throughput needs for physical servers and storage arrays.

Still another source of complexity is the fact that many organizations deploy two types of networks: Fibre Channel for storage and Ethernet for data. Organizations typically maintain both types because each protocol has its own advantages and disadvantages.