ABSTRACT
Storage networking grew out of the need to scale storage capacity and increase performance over conventional direct-attached storage (DAS) systems. Network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SANs) provide the avenues to extend the practicality, usage, and reach of storage systems, as well as to enable the interchange of information between similar and/or dissimilar platforms through interoperability. The three terms that head this chapter, “scalability,” “extensibility,” and “interoperability,” impart a number of concepts and definitions related to storage, systems, and performance.
