A LAN-free backup is a
backup of server data to a shared, central
storage device without sending the data over the
local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
(LAN). It is usually achieved by using a
storage area network
A storage area network (SAN) or storage network is a computer network which provides access to consolidated, block-level data storage. SANs are primarily used to access data storage devices, such as disk arrays and tape libraries from se ...
(SAN).
Note that trivial backup to a dedicated, unshared storage device (such as local
tape drive
A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and a long archival stability.
...
) does not meet the definition.
Technical aspects
The goal of LAN-free backup is to reduce the load on LAN and reduce the time it takes to complete the backup. It offers an alternative way of backup than a simple data copy to
network-attached storage
Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level (as opposed to block-level storage) computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. The term "NAS" can refer to both the techn ...
(NAS) over LAN
It comes in different flavours:
* with backup server: in addition to a shared storage device (usually a traditional
tape library
In computer storage, a tape library, sometimes called a tape silo, tape robot or tape jukebox, is a storage device that contains one or more tape drives, a number of slots to hold tape cartridges, a barcode reader to identify tape cartridges a ...
), there exists a central server arbitrating access to device (for all the other SAN servers). The central server however, does not handle data stream itself.
* without backup server: the storage facility (usually a
virtual tape library
A virtual tape library (VTL) is a data storage virtualization technology used typically for backup and recovery purposes. A VTL presents a storage component (usually hard disk storage) as tape libraries or tape drives for use with existing backup ...
, or VTL) is smart enough to handle multiple data accesses without intermediate component.
See also
* Data
backup
*
Storage area network
A storage area network (SAN) or storage network is a computer network which provides access to consolidated, block-level data storage. SANs are primarily used to access data storage devices, such as disk arrays and tape libraries from se ...
*
Network-attached storage
Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level (as opposed to block-level storage) computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. The term "NAS" can refer to both the techn ...
*
Fiber Channel
Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed data transfer protocol providing in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data. Fibre Channel is primarily used to connect computer data storage to servers in storage area networks (SAN) in commercial data ce ...
technology
External links
Description of Lan-Free Client Data Transfer Operation
{{compu-storage-stub
Backup
Storage area networks