Script: SAN audio primer

As corporate America turns to databases, streaming media, online transaction processing and other bandwidth-intensive technologies, ordinary servers and peripheral storage devices simply can't handle the load. Storage area networks, or SANs, are one possible answer.

How does a SAN architecture work? Storage devices -- such as RAID arrays or tape drives -- are attached to servers using Fibre Channel. These high-speed connections enable any-to-any communication among the devices on the SAN. Another benefit: There are alternate paths to connect the servers and storage, so if a server drops out, another can allow access to the stored data.