| Post-Production Video Editing Video editing requires sustained transmission of storage data at multigigabit speeds and is intolerant of transmission delays. Video editing applications may require auxiliary file sharing middleware. Digitized video streams may require ~30MBps throughput, and high-definition video may exceed ~130MBps. Prepress Operations Prepress applications are characterized by bursty transfers of large graphics files and shared data requirements. Sequential editing of a single graphical image by multiple graphic artists requires file locking middleware to ensure data integrity. LAN-Free and Server-Free Tape Backup LAN-free tape backup can be implemented by using dedicated Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet network segments. A SAN for backup traffic can be implemented in a mixed direct-attached disk and shared disk environment. Server-free backup uses third-party copy agents to enable tape backups to be performed without affecting server resources. Third-party copy agents can be embedded in SAN switches, SAN-attached backup servers, SAN bridges, or SAN-attached tape subsystems. Server Clustering Server clustering can provide both failover and load balancing solutions for high-availability requirements. Servers monitor each other's status via a heartbeat protocol, typically over Ethernet. SANs provide shared access to storage for both load balancing and failover implementations. Server clusters are typically configured with dual data paths and redundant SAN switches to ensure high availability. Storage Consolidation Direct-attached SCSI storage often results in inefficient utilization of storage capacity. Storage consolidation on a SAN streamlines storage administration and simplifies tape backup operations. LUN administration and LUN masking are used to manage assignment of storage to individual servers. Storage consolidation accommodates heterogeneous operating systems on a single SAN infrastructure. Internet Service Providers ISP applications require high availability of large amounts of data. Domain Name Systems (DNS) allow one server to assume transactions for another. A SAN allows multiple servers to access the same content for Web serving and e-commerce applications. Campus Storage Networks Distance limitations and dedicated link requirements of Fibre Channel can be overcome with IP storage gateways. Native IP storage protocols such as iFCP and iSCSI can be used to link multiple SANs over campus or metro distances while preserving the autonomy of each site. Campus SANs facilitate consolidated tape backup and storage resource sharing. Remote Tape Vaulting Branch office tape backup is often unreliable and is rarely verified for integrity of tape data. IP storage gateways or iSCSI can be used to centralize backup operations for multiple dispersed sites. Bandwidth requirements can be minimized by performing incremental backups. Data compression and jumbo frames for IP storage further enable maximum utilization of available wide area bandwidth. Disaster Recovery Disaster recovery strategy criteria include prioritization of corporate data, allowable time to restore data, and distance sufficient to safeguard business continuance. Current IP storage products can be used to extend DR links to hundreds or thousands of miles between primary and DR sites. DR strategies may include both disk-to-disk data replication for critical data and tape backup for secondary data. Synchronous data replication is sensitive to latency and may not be suitable for extremely long distances. Enterprises with multiple regional data centers can leverage IP services and data replication to implement a round-robin DR solution. |