Download Assignment NoA6

Assignment No-A6 04
Title:Design and Setup LAN with Star topology to access Storage Area Network
(SAN). The SAN must have DSP data, Text Data, Multimedia Data
available for the access..
Objective: Student will be able to understand Network Topologies.
 Students will be able to design LAN with St.ar topology.
 Student will be able to setup LAN with Star Topology
Outcome: Student will Design and Setup the LAN in Star Topology.
Prerequisite: Student must know the server and also installation and configuration of the server.
Hardware RequirementDesktop PC and Printers
Software RequirementUBUNTU 14.0, gcc, g++ compiler
Introduction:Storage Area Network:A Storage Area Network (SAN) is a dedicated high-performance subnet that provides access to
consolidated, block level data storage and is primarily used to transfer data between computer
systems and storage elements and among multiple storage elements, making storage devices,
such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices
appear like locally attached devices to the operating system.
Storage Area Network
A Storage Area Network (SAN) is a dedicated high-performance subnet that provides access to
consolidated, block level data storage and is primarily used to transfer data between computer
systems and storage elements and among multiple storage elements, making storage devices,
such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices
appear like locally attached devices to the operating system.
A SAN typically has its own communication infrastructure that is generally not accessible
through the local area network by other devices. A SAN moves data among various storage
devices, allowing for the sharing data between different servers, and provides a fast connection
medium for backing up, restoring, archiving, and retrieving data. SAN devices are usually
installed closely in a single room, but they can also be connected over long distances, making it
very useful to large companies.
SAN Benefits
The primary benefits of a SAN are:



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High Availability: One copy of every piece of data is always accessible to any and all
hosts via multiple paths;
Reliability: Dependable data transportation ensures a low error rate, and fault tolerance
capabilities;
Scalability: Servers and storage devices may be added independently of one another and
from any proprietary systems;
Performance: Fibre Channel (the standard method for SAN interconnectivity) has now
over than 2000MB/sec bandwidth and low overhead, and it separates storage and network
I/O;
SAN Storage
The storage layer is where all data resides on the SAN. This is the layer that contains all the disk
drives, tape drives, and other storage devices, like optical storage drives. The storage layer’s
devices include some intelligence, such as RAID or other data-replication technologies to help
protect data in the event of a failure.
If you use an array of disks without any special connection between them that is Just a Bunch Of
Disks (also called a JBOD) all located in the same place. But a storage array adds extra
intelligence to the controllers — which allows you to do cool stuff like RAID, so it’s no longer
just a bunch of stupid disks. The intelligence built into the storage controllers in the storage array
is what enables this additional functionality and this is achieved via some smart code called
firmware that makes it more intelligent.
Network Attached Storage
Network-attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer
network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. A NAS is a single storage device that
operates on data files, while a SAN is a local network of multiple devices that operate on disk
blocks. A NAS system has its own LAN IP address and its own software for configuring and
mapping file locations to the network attached devices. NAS systems contain one or more hard
disks, usually arranged into redundant RAID arrays and uses file-based protocols such as NFS
(popular on UNIX systems), SMB/CIFS (Server Message Block/Common Internet File System)
(used with MS Windows systems), or AFP (used with Apple Macintosh computers).
In short NAS is another server on the network and can in many cases, entirely replace a
conventional file server with a Direct Attached Storage System (DAS) – particularly if the
server’s only role has been to share files. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is
specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements.
NAS is often made as a computer appliance – a specialized computer built from the ground up
for storing and serving files – rather than simply a general purpose computer being used for the
role. For this reason, NAS units usually do not have a keyboard or display, and are controlled and
configured over the network, often using a browser.
SAN vs NAS
At first glance NAS and SAN might seem almost identical, and in fact many times either will
work in a given situation. However, there are differences that can seriously affect the way your
data is utilized. While a SAN deals in blocks of data, a NAS operates at the file level and is
accessible to anyone with access rights, so it needs also to manage user privileges, file locking
and other security measures. The processing and control of this data is performed in large
enterprise systems by a NAS head, physically separated from the storage system.
In contrast, SANs allow multiple servers to share a pool of storage, making it appear to the
server as if it were local or DAS, and it cannot be accessed by individual users. A SAN
commonly utilizes Fibre Channel wiring connections and encapsulated SCSI as protocol while a
NAS typically makes use of Ethernet links and TCP/IP with NFS/CIFS/AFP as communication
protocols.
A SAN typically has its own communication infrastructure that is generally not accessible
through the local area network by other devices. A SAN moves data among various storage
devices, allowing for the sharing data between different servers, and provides a fast connection
medium for backing up, restoring, archiving, and retrieving data. SAN devices are usually
installed closely in a single room, but they can also be connected over long distances, making it
very useful to large companies.
SAN versus LAN
Since the original TCP/IP network protocols used in LANs were developed to move and share
files, they had no built-in way to directly access disk drives. As a result, very high-performance
applications needed direct access to block-based disk drives to move and store data very fast as
data is stored as blocks on a disk drive.
A SAN differs from a LAN in two main ways:

Storage Protocol: A LAN uses network protocols that send small blocks of data with
increased communication overhead due to addressing and protocol encapsulation and this
reduces data throughput. A SAN uses storage protocols (SCSI) that sends larger blocks of
data with reduced overhead and data throughput;

Server Captive Storage: LAN based systems connect servers to clients, with each server
owning and controlling access to its own storage resources. Storage must be added to a
server rather than directly to the LAN. A SAN allows storage resources to be added to the
network enabling any server to directly access them.
STAR TOPOLOGY:
Star topologies are implemented via a common switching node which routes data from
one connected node to another as if it were configured as a point to point topology. From the
nodes transmitting and receiving data, there is no practical distinction between a star network
and a point to point network, however the inclusion of the central switch allows a network to
grow to N nodes, where N is the number of leaf nodes attached to central switch. From a logical
perspective N can be arbitrarily high, however from a physical perspective N is limited to the
number of physical connection ports available on the switch.
Combining more than one star topology results in a tree topology and is known as daisy-chaining
which is a very common practice. It is theoretically possible to connect star networks into a ring
or mesh topology, however from a physical topological perspective most common hardware will
fail to handle these cases, and either fail to function entirely or degrade to a tree topology.
Setting Up a Simple LAN
Imagine that an ISP has just set up an Internet connection for your telecentre. What’s next?
Probably the telecentre manager will want to set up a simple LAN and then use it to connect the
computers to the Internet. This is can be done simply, as explained below, and does not need to
involve a server computer since the router can direct Internet traffic.
The telecentre manager will need to determine in advance whether to make the network wired,
wireless or a combination of the two. Wireless networks are simpler to set up but more attention
needs to be paid to security with wireless networks. In addition, not all desktop computers come
with wireless adapters.
Imagine that a broadband Internet connection has just been installed at your telecentre. Here are
the steps for setting up a small LAN to connect computers to the Internet.
Step 1:
Install a router. This is as simple as plugging it into an electrical outlet, and then using a CAT-5
cable to connect it to the Internet source. The Internet source will vary with the type of
connection. For a WiMax connection, for example, you might be connecting directly to an
antenna or to a modem connected to the antenna.
Step 2:
Connect wired computers to the router. If the router has enough ports on the back for all of the
computers on your network, you can attach them directly using CAT-5 cable. The router will act
as the center of a star network. If the router does not have enough ports, move on to step 3. You
may also need to install the software that came with the router onto one of the networked
computers and use it to complete the initial setup for the router.
Step 3:
Connect a switch to the router. This should be done if the router does not have enough ports for
all the computers on your network, or if a group of computers is in another room. The switch
connects to one of the ports in the router via a CAT-5 cable, and also will require an electrical
outlet. Computers then connect to the switch, forming a star network.
Step 4:
Connect wireless computers to the router. If you have a wireless router and computers with
wireless adapters, connect each computer individually to the router by using the tools in their
operating systems for network connections (for Windows computers these can be found in the
control panel). If the router (or the switch) is not wireless or if wireless access is needed in a
different location, move on to step 5.
Step 5:
Connect a wireless access point to the router. If additional wireless access is needed, scout out
the best location for this access (so that as many computers as possible are in range). Then
connect the wireless access point to one of the ports in the router via a CAT-5 cable
Conclusion:In this way I can Design and Setup LAN with Star topology to access Storage Area Network
(SAN).