Hey guys, can you tell me the difference between IPSAN and FCSAN storage structure?

Hello, in my opinion, there are the following differences.

First, there are three storage structures that are common today

DAS: Direct storage

NAS: Network-attached storage

SAN: Storage Area Network

FC SAN

Advantages: high transmission bandwidth, currently there are 1,2,4 and 8Gb/s four standards, the mainstream is 4 and 8Gb/s, stable and reliable performance, mature technology, is the key application field and large-scale storage network choice.

IP SAN

Since the high cost of FC SAN makes many small and medium sized storage networks unacceptable, some people begin to consider building storage networks based on Ethernet technology.

But in SAN, the instructions transmitted are SCSI read and write instructions, not IP packets.

ISCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) is a standard for transferring data blocks over TCP/IP[1].

ISCSI can run the SCSI protocol over IP networks, enabling it to perform fast data access backup operations on high speed Gigabit Ethernet, for example.

This technology is called IP SAN in order to distinguish it from the previous FC SAN based on fiber optic technology.

ISCSI inherits two of the most traditional technologies: SCSI and TCP/IP.

This has laid a solid foundation for the development of iSCSI.

ISCSI-based storage systems can implement SAN storage capabilities with minimal investment, even directly utilizing existing TCP/IP networks.

Compared with the previous network storage technology, it has solved the problems of openness, capacity, transmission speed, compatibility, security and so on, and its superior performance has attracted much attention and favor.

In practice, SCSI commands and data are encapsulated into TCP/IP packets and transmitted over IP networks.

· IPSAN advantage:

Low cost, the purchase of network cables and switches are Ethernet, and can even use the existing network to form a SAN;

Easy deployment and low management difficulty;

With the advent of 10 gigabit Ethernet, IP SAN is no longer inferior to the transmission bandwidth when competing with FC SAN.

The natural advantage of IP-based network makes IP SAN easy to realize remote storage, remote disaster recovery and other technologies across the WAN time;

References

[1] Huawei.OceanStor S2600T, S5500T, S5600T, S5800T, and S6800T Storage System V200R002C30 Basic Storage Service Guide (SAN Volume) 10[EB/OL].

Hello Wooo,
An IP SAN is a dedicated storage area network (SAN) that allows multiple servers to access pools of shared block storage devices using storage protocols that depend on the Internet Engineering Taskforce standard Internet Protocol suite.

The storage protocols designed to move block-based data between a host server and storage array include the Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI), Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) and Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP).

The most common type of IP SAN uses iSCSI to encapsulate SCSI commands and assemble data into packets for transfer between the host servers and storage devices. IP SAN protocols typically run over a standard Ethernet network and use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) for communication. An IP SAN for block-based data is often referred to as an iSCSI SAN.

An IP SAN is generally viewed as lower cost, less complex and simpler to manage than an FC SAN. An FC SAN requires special hardware such as host bus adapters and FC switches, whereas the IP SAN can use commodity Ethernet networking hardware. One potential disadvantage of an IP SAN is higher latency than an FC SAN, which uses deterministic layer 2 switching technology.

A fiber channel storage area network (FC SAN) is a system that enables multiple servers to access network storage devices. A storage area network enables high-performance data transmission between multiple storage devices and servers.

FC technology is essential for SAN implementation and establishes connectivity according to requirements.

The following are basic FC SAN components:
Platform devices
Fabric-attached end devices, including servers, hosts and storage subsystems
Devices connected to other SAN platforms via fabric facilities
One or more FC nodes, including host adapters, host bus adapters, storage controllers and one or more node ports controlled at levels of FC-2 or higher
Interconnected device fabric, including switches, hubs and bridges, and generic node port fabric references

FC SAN has logical and physical features, as follows:
Topology Views: Identify internal fabric configuration for management applications requiring device data interconnection type. Display operational data, such as assigned fabric path routing. Management applications use topology views to construct maps with interconnected platform routes, connections and devices.
Logical and Physical Topologies: Include end-to-end views. Logical topology enables interdependent platform device management, regardless of connection. Physical topology enables different device paths for performance and availability.
Path Tuples: Fabric names and endpoint associators, like platforms, nodes and ports
Logical components: Extents, data movers, platforms, fabric, nodes, FC and aggregators
FC Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) accounting is the most popular and scalable FC SAN configuration. FC-AL use expensive switched SAN fabrics, suits medium-sized configurations and is priced according to performance.
You can see this post here:

https://forum.huawei.com/enterprise/en/ip-san-vs-fc-san/thread/667865-891

Thanks.