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Storage-area networks (SANs) have the ability to save a company money, hasten backups and help consolidate the data center. But a SAN is not to be left alone. It's a complex, growing, breathing entity that constantly needs to be tweaked and upgraded.

So what is SAN School? If this is the first time you are asking yourself, "What's a SAN?" then SAN School is for you. If you are implementing your first SAN and need implementation and migration help -- SAN School is for you. If you are far along in the SAN process and need to extend your SANs or connect SAN islands -- SAN School is for you. The authors of Storage Area Networks for Dummies, Christopher Poelker and Alex Nikitin, are your SAN School professors. In each of these lessons they'll walk you through what a SAN is, all the way through connecting those last nodes for optimal performance. School is in session, so enjoy!

Part I: The storage-area network Lesson 1: The Storage-area network

Do you need a SAN? Lesson one explores what a SAN is, the basic benefits of a SAN and which applications are best suited for a SAN.

Read about Lesson 1

Sponsored by: StorageTek Lesson 2: SAN building blocks

Now that you know why you may need a SAN, this lesson explains the parts of a SAN. Chris also talks about modular versus monolithic, enterprise versus departmental, and takes a look at RAID levels and LUNs.

Read about Lesson 2

Sponsored by: StorageTek Lesson 3: What makes a SAN go

Understanding the performance aspects of a SAN can help you begin to see where the benefits lie. This lesson is devoted to the inner workings of a SAN, such as latency issues, Fibre Channel protocols, World Wide Names and how the SAN fabric works.

Read about Lesson 3

Sponsored by: StorageTek Lesson 4: What makes a SAN stop

Because SANs need to be tailored to one's environment, choosing the right gear can make all the difference between a successful SAN implementation and a dud. Take preventive steps to make sure your SAN isn't doomed from the design phase. This lesson looks at avoiding poor SAN design, and choosing the right hardware and software for the job.

Read about Lesson 4

Sponsored by: StorageTek ***TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF PART 1 -- TAKE OUR QUIZ***

Once you've viewed lessons 1-4, test your skills by taking the SAN School Quiz

Part II: Designing and building a SAN Lesson 5: SAN loops and the SAN fabric

This lesson aims to help you design your SAN for maximum performance and availability. It uncovers SAN network topology, designing for high availability, zoning basics and using fault-tolerant connections.

Read about Lesson 5

Sponsored by: StorageTek Lesson 6: Disaster recovery planning

Many IT folks implementing SANs are using them for backup. This lesson delves into disaster recovery planning and the costs associated with downtime, how to use a SAN for recovery and choosing a remote site. It also looks at remote copy techniques, using clusters and the importance of testing your plans.

Read about Lesson 6

Sponsored by: StorageTek Lesson 7: Putting it all together

If you are ready to implement your SAN, this lesson is for you. Learn how to choose which applications/servers belong in your SAN, installing HBAs, loading firmware, starting drivers, setting the topology, testing for connectivity and zone types.

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Sponsored by: StorageTek ***TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF PART 2 -- TAKE OUR QUIZ***

Once you've viewed lessons 5-7, test your skills by taking the SAN School quiz

Part III: Using advanced SAN features Lesson 8: Tying your SANs together

To create a full-scale network you will probably have to tie your SANs together. Lesson 8 looks at how to extend the SAN, connectivity between SANs and SAN islands, IP storage, virtualization (in-band, out-of-band) and SW/HW pooling.

Read about Lesson 8

Sponsored by: IBM TotalStorage Lesson 9: SAN backup: The killer app

The killer app for implementing a SAN has been and will continue to be backup. In lesson nine, professor Christopher Poelker discusses the merits of backup over the SAN. Chris will discuss the options associated with SAN backup, including backups over a dedicated LAN, tiered backups, LAN-less backup, serverless backup and more. He'll also touch upon snapshots and give you exact formulas to calculate backup windows. This lesson also offers tips and tricks on how to find and rectify backup bottlenecks.

Read about Lesson 9

Sponsored by: IBM TotalStorage Lesson 10: Booting into your SAN

Why should you boot from a SAN? In lesson 10 Christopher Poelker gives you a number of different reasons why booting from a SAN is beneficial. He also looks at which HBAs are available and might be the right fit for your organization. This lesson walks you through the nine-step process for booting a SAN -- complete with code and screen shots.

Read about Lesson 10

Sponsored by: Cisco Lesson 11: Using point-in-time copies

What are point-in-time copies? What types of point-in-time copies are there? Lesson 11dissects point-in-time copies and snapshots. Alex Nikitin explores some real-world examples of where point-in-time copies should be used and how. He'll also show you the process for setting up the most efficient point-in-time copy environment.

Read about Lesson 11

Sponsored by: Storage Decisions ***TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF PART III -- TAKE OUR QUIZ***

Once you've viewed lessons 8-11, test your skills by taking the SAN School Quiz