CompTIA Server+ (SK0-005)Server Hardware Installation and ManagementMedium
A server administrator is configuring a new storage area network (SAN) that will connect multiple servers to a centralized storage array. The administrator requires high throughput and very low latency for block-level data access, and the solution must be scalable for future expansion. Which of the following SAN technologies would be the MOST appropriate choice?
- AiSCSI over Ethernet
- BFibre Channel (FC)
- CNFS over Ethernet
- DFibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Fibre Channel (FC)
Fibre Channel is traditionally the preferred SAN technology for environments demanding the highest throughput, lowest latency, and dedicated block-level access. While FCoE attempts to converge FC over Ethernet, native Fibre Channel offers the most robust and optimized solution for these requirements.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. iSCSI provides block-level access over Ethernet but generally has higher latency and lower throughput than native Fibre Channel.
- C. NFS is a file-level protocol, not block-level, and offers higher latency than SAN technologies.
- D. FCoE converges Fibre Channel traffic over Ethernet but can introduce additional overhead compared to native FC, and requires specialized Ethernet switches.
Fibre Channel (FC)
A high-speed network technology primarily used for connecting computer data storage to servers in storage area networks (SANs), offering dedicated, low-latency, block-level data transfer.
- Dedicated network for storage traffic.
- Provides block-level access to storage.
- Known for high throughput and extremely low latency.
- Requires specialized Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) and switches.
Memory trick: FC is the 'Fastest Connection' for SAN.