SAN Storage Area Network Management

Overview:

Introduction:

Storage Area Network (SAN) management refers to the structured administration of high speed, block level storage systems that support enterprise level data access, scalability, and availability. SAN environments are critical in data intensive operations where centralized storage and performance isolation are essential. This training program presents the architectural elements, connectivity structures, performance models, and administrative frameworks used in the management of SAN systems within modern IT infrastructures.

Program Objectives:

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Define the core structure and functions of SAN environments.

• Classify SAN elements and connectivity models within enterprise systems.

• Outline procedures for capacity allocation and logical storage organization.

• Evaluate performance management and fault tolerance principles in SANs.

• Review the role of monitoring and governance in SAN infrastructure stability.

Targeted Audience:

• Infrastructure and system administrators.

• IT operations managers and data centre staff.

• Network and storage engineers.

• Technical leads involved in data architecture.

• Professionals responsible for storage provisioning and planning.

Program Outline:

Unit 1:

Foundations of Storage Area Networks:

• Definition and purpose of SANs in enterprise architecture.

• Comparison between SAN, NAS, and DAS models.

• SAN use cases in centralized storage and high availability systems.

• Basic SAN architecture, including initiators, targets, and fabrics.

• Key benefits of SAN adoption in large scale environments.

Unit 2:

SAN Components and Connectivity Models:

• Overview of switches, HBAs, and storage controllers.

• Fibre Channel and iSCSI protocols in SAN communications.

• Zoning types and logical path segmentation.

• Topology types, including mesh, core edge, and director class.

• Multipathing structures and redundancy configuration techniques.

Unit 3:

Storage Provisioning and Logical Structures:

• Logical Unit Number (LUN) allocation and mapping strategies.

• Volume group design and expansion strategies.

• RAID configurations and storage pool structures.

• Oversight on host group assignment and access controls.

• Integration process of virtualization with SAN environments.

Unit 4:

Performance Management and Fault Resilience:

• Throughput, latency, and IOPS considerations in SAN design.

• Bottleneck identification methods in storage pathways.

• Load balancing principles and resource tiering.

• Redundancy models and failover architecture.

• Monitoring parameters process for reliability assurance.

Unit 5:

Governance, Monitoring, and SAN Administration:

• Policy definition for storage usage and lifecycle.

• Role based access and operational authorization measures.

• Logging, auditing, and compliance structures.

• Key principles of change management and version documentation.

• Tools and platforms for centralized SAN visibility.