Which protocol is commonly used for storage area network implementations?

Which protocol is commonly used for storage area network implementations?

• A. FC
• B. iSCSI
• C. NFS
• D. SMB

Answer: (B)

Storage area networks revolve around providing servers with fast, direct access to raw storage blocks. While Fibre Channel has long been a staple for SANs, iSCSI has become widely used because it runs over standard Ethernet networks and IP, encapsulating SCSI commands inside TCP/IP. This lets you build a SAN using existing network gear, reducing cost and complexity while still delivering block-level storage over the network. NFS and SMB, by contrast, are file-level protocols and don’t provide the raw block access that SANs require, so they aren’t the typical choice for SAN implementations.

Storage area networks revolve around providing servers with fast, direct access to raw storage blocks. While Fibre Channel has long been a staple for SANs, iSCSI has become widely used because it runs over standard Ethernet networks and IP, encapsulating SCSI commands inside TCP/IP. This lets you build a SAN using existing network gear, reducing cost and complexity while still delivering block-level storage over the network. NFS and SMB, by contrast, are file-level protocols and don’t provide the raw block access that SANs require, so they aren’t the typical choice for SAN implementations.