ABSTRACT
Of the three, direct attached storage (DAS) is the simplest but least flexible. It provides block-based storage access to a directly attached client/server. DAS is a common choice for applications that require highperformance, local storage. The storage area network (SAN) replaces the simple connectivity of DAS with a switched fabric. Both clients and servers are connected to a fabric, allowing for scalable performance and capacity. It too provides native, block-oriented access to storage. Third, network attached storage (NAS) uses networking to attach clients to file
servers. NAS provides remote storage with an included file system. In NAS architecture, multiple hosts can share files. The distinction between SAN and NAS can be confusing at times so the differences are clearly outlined in this chapter. The analysis emphasizes the features and aspects that are especially relevant to A/V systems. Let us start with DAS.
