KJSCE/IT/TE/SEMVIII/SNMR/2015-2016

Experiment No. 04
Title: Case study on Network Attached Storage.

(Autonomous College Affiliated to University of Mumbai)

KJSCE/IT/TE/SEMVIII/SNMR/2015-2016

Batch:

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Experiment No.:

Aim: To provide solution for the problem specified in the case study based on Network
Attached Storage.
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Resources needed: Microsoft Word / Open office Writer
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Theory
Network Attached Storage(NAS) is a dedicated file sharing network. NAS uses IP
network for connectivity.
Advantages of Network Attached Storage: The major advantage of network attached
storage is the merging of various storage levels for the use of administrators. Combining all
the servers and placing them in a single system which contains a set of drives is more
conducive than a single server. Another factor that makes the network attached storage more
beneficial is the prevention of the management of defects occurring in the individual
machines. The NAS fuses a number of servers and the problems associated with them into a
single easily manageable system that gives solutions at a faster rate. Retrieving lost
information thereby becomes a simple task and handling of mammoth corporate data
becomes astoundingly simple to manipulate, even with the involvement of several offices and
also mobile areas.
Disadvantages observed for a Network Attached Storage are given as follows: One of the few
drawbacks faced by the network attached storage system is the problems associated with the
file systems in it. The end users are linked to the network attached storage system by means
of their operating systems. They set up all their back up in the network attached storage
system. The difficulty arises due to the fact that the file system in the NAS is based on Linux
and if some defect occurs it becomes quite hard to recover all the data. Only a professional
data recovery service can retrieve the lost data successfully.
iSCSI:
iSCSI is an IP-based protocol that establishes and manages connections between storage,
hosts, and bridging devices over IP. iSCSI carries block-level data over IP-based networks,
including Ethernet networks and the Internet. iSCSI is built on the SCSI protocol by
encapsulating SCSI commands and data in order to allow these encapsulated commands and
data blocks to be transported using TCP/IP packets.
Host (initiators), targets, and an IP-based network are the principal iSCSI components. The
simplest iSCSI implementation does not require any FC components. If an iSCSI-capable
storage array is deployed, a host itself can act as an iSCSI initiator, and directly communicate
with the storage over an IP network. However, in complex implementations that use an
existing FC array for iSCSI connectivity, iSCSI gateways or routers are used to connect the
existing FC SAN. These devices perform protocol translation from IP packets to FC packets
and vice-versa, thereby bridging connectivity between the IP and FC environments
(Autonomous College Affiliated to University of Mumbai)

KJSCE/IT/TE/SEMVIII/SNMR/2015-2016

iSCSI Topologies:
The topologies used to implement iSCSI can be categorized into two classes: native and
bridged. Native topologies do not have any FC components; they perform all communication
over IP. The initiators may be either directly attached to targets or connected using standard
IP routers and switches. Bridged topologies enable the co-existence of FC with IP by
providing iSCSI-to-FC bridging functionality. For example, the initiators can exist in an IP
environment while the storage remains in an FC SAN.
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Procedure:
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Study the given Case study.

Draw an appropriate diagram for existing scenario specified in case study.
Provide an appropriate solution
Justify your solution along with a proper diagram.

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Results: (Document printout as per the format)
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Questions:
Case Study:
Q1. A company is considering implementing storage. They do not have a current
storage iinfrastructure to use, but they have a network that gives them good
performance.
Discuss whether native or bridged iSCSI should be used and explain your
recommendation.
Q2. Research the iSCSI capabilities in a NAS device; provide use case examples.
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Outcomes:
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Conclusion: (Conclusion to be based on the outcomes achieved)
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(Autonomous College Affiliated to University of Mumbai)

KJSCE/IT/TE/SEMVIII/SNMR/2015-2016

Grade: AA / AB / BB / BC / CC / CD /DD

Signature of faculty in-charge with date

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References:
Books/ Journals/ Websites:
1. Richard Barker and Paul Massiglia, Storage Area Network Essentials: A Complete
Guide to Understanding and Implementing SANs, Wiley India.
2. Robert Spalding, Storage Networks: The Complete Reference, Tata McGraw Hill
Osborne, 2003.
3. Marc Farley, Building Storage Networks, Tata McGraw Hill, Osborne, 2001.
4. Meet Gupta, Storage Area Network Fundamentals, Pearson Education Limited, 2002.

(Autonomous College Affiliated to University of Mumbai)