Deciding whether to use SAN or DAS as your host storage solution depends on a number of different factors. For example, some of the advantages of the SAN approach include
- SAN allows multiple servers access to a pool of storage. This means SAN provides flexibility by allowing any server to access any storage unit in the SAN array.
- Because SAN is a centralized storage solution, it is easier to manage than DAS. This might be an important consideration if you will be deploying many Hyper-V hosts.
- SAN has a more scalable architecture than the DAS approach.
The disadvantages of the SAN approach, however, include the following:
- SANs are usually more costly than DAS solutions, and depending on your business priorities this factor might weigh heavily in your decision.
- DAS solutions typically have lower latency than SANs. So if application I/O or service latency is a priority, DAS might be the route to take.
NOTE: Network-attached storage (NAS) is not supported for Hyper-V hosts.
The above tip was previously published in an issue of WServerNews, a weekly newsletter from TechGenix that focuses on the administration, management and security of the Windows Server platform in particular and cloud solutions in general. Subscribe to WServerNews today by going to http://www.wservernews.com/subscribe.htm and join almost 100,000 other IT professionals around the world who read our newsletter!
Mitch Tulloch is an eleven-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award and a widely recognized expert on Windows Server and cloud computing technologies. Mitch is also Senior Editor of WServerNews. For more information about him see http://www.mtit.com.
