SANbased

SANbased is a term used to describe systems, architectures, or strategies that rely on a Storage Area Network as the primary storage backbone. It is not a formal standard, but a descriptive label used in IT discussions to distinguish SAN-centric storage solutions from direct-attached storage (DAS) or network-attached storage (NAS).

A SAN typically consists of servers with host bus adapters connected to a fabric of switches and storage arrays. The fabric carries block storage traffic using protocols such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or NVMe over Fabrics. SANbased approaches emphasize centralized storage provisioning, data integrity features, and the ability to expand capacity by adding more storage arrays without directly scaling attached disks.

Benefits include high throughput and low latency for workloads such as databases and virtualization, centralized management, fine-grained access controls through LUN masking and zoning, and built-in replication and disaster recovery options. SAN-based deployments are common in data centers and enterprise applications where predictable performance and scalability are priorities.

Common considerations are higher upfront cost, increased infrastructure complexity, specialized expertise for ongoing management, and potential single points of failure if the fabric is not properly designed. Modern SANs often employ NVMe-over-Fabrics and converged fabrics to reduce latency and simplify management, and they are frequently integrated with backup, archiving, and DR strategies.

Historically, SANs emerged in the 1990s with Fibre Channel and later evolved to support iSCSI and NVMe-based transports. While SANbased architectures remain a core option, many organizations also employ NAS, DAS, or hyperconverged infrastructure as part of a broader storage strategy.