Storage Network Architecture

Foreword

 With the development of host, disk, and network technologies, the storage system
architecture evolves, and the storage network architecture also develops to meet
service requirements. This course introduces the storage network architecture.

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 Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to understand:

 Storage network architecture evolution
 Storage network technology evolution

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 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
4. Distributed Architecture

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 Contents

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DAS

LAN

File server Application server Database server

Client

Data flow SCSI Data flow SCSI Data flow SCSI

Storage device Storage Storage

device device

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DAS

External disk array (DAS) Smart disk array (DAS)

Server Server
CPU CPU
RAM
RAM

Disk
Disk

SCSI card
RAID SCSI card

Controller

JBOD

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Challenges for DAS
Challenges Description

Limited number of ports that can be connected to a host.

Low
Scalability Limited number of addressable disks.

Limited distance.

Inconvenient
The system needs to be powered off during maintenance.
Maintenance

Insufficient Front-end ports and storage space are difficult to share.

Resource
Sharing Resource silos: For example, the DAS with insufficient storage space
cannot share the remaining space of the DAS with excessive storage
resources.

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 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
4. Distributed Architecture

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 Contents

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NAS
 Network-attached storage (NAS) connects storage devices to the live
network and provides data and file services.
 The most commonly used network sharing protocols for NAS are
Common Internet File System (CIFS) and Network File System (NFS).
 Benefits:
OS: Windows  Improved efficiency
 Improved flexibility
 Centralized storage
OS: Linux  Simplified management
 High scalability

Switch
 High availability
NAS device
OS: MAC OS  Security (user authentication
and authorization)

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General-Purpose Server and NAS Devices

File system
Application
OS
Printer driver
Network
File system
OS
Network Uni-functional
NAS device

General-purpose server
(Windows or UNIX)

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NAS Protocols
Enterprise Enterprise
office office • NFS
• CIFS
IP IP IP IP
• FTP
Linux Windows
• HTTP
IP IP IP IP
• NDMP

NFS CIFS
FS
CACHE
POOL

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Working Principles of NFS

Client POR TMAP

Server
Port mapping table
1. RPC request

2. RPC response RPC

Client program

Request
RPC
Registration

3. Communication NFS processes:

rpc.nfsd and
Rpc.mountd

NFS share
information

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Typical Application of NFS: Shared Storage for Cloud
Computing
 Cloud computing uses the NFS server as the internal shared storage.

Converged storage
NFS client

Cloud computing server

Internal IP
Firewall

External IP network
network Cloud computing server

NFS server
Cloud computing server

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Working Principles of CIFS

Client Server
SMB NEGOTIATE Request
Protocol Protocol
SMB NEGOTIATE Response negotiation handshake

SMB SESSION_SETUP Request

Security
SMB SESSION_SETUP Response Session setup authentication

SMB TREECONNECT Request

Share
SMB TREECONNECT Response Tree connection connection

...... Network file

File operation
operation
SMB TREE_DISCONNECT Request
Disconnection Disconnection
SMB TREE_DISCONNECT Response

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Typical Application of CIFS: File Sharing Service
 The file sharing service applies to scenarios such as enterprise file servers and media assets.
Enterprise office

IP Windows IP IP Management

Performance Service Share User

IP IP IP monitoring management management management

NAS service

LAN
DNS

Authentication flow
AD server Management flow
Data flow

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 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
 IP SAN Technologies
▫ FC SAN Technologies

▫ Comparison Between IP SAN and FC SAN

4. Distributed Architecture

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 Contents

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NIC + Initiator Software

The initiator software converts

iSCSI packets into TCP/IP
packets, which consumes host
resources.

NIC

TCP/IP-based Ethernet IP SAN

connection

Internal bus
Storage device Ethernet

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TOE NIC + Initiator Software

The initiator software

implements the functions
of the iSCSI layer, which
consumes host resources.
The TOE NIC implements
TCP/IP conversion, which
TOE NIC does not consume host
resources.

TCP/IP-based Ethernet IP SAN

connection

Internal bus
Storage device Ethernet

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iSCSI HBA

The iSCSI HBA converts iSCSI

packets into TCP/IP packets,
iSCSI HBA which does not consume host
resources.

TCP/IP-based Ethernet IP SAN

connection

Internal bus

Storage device Ethernet

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Type of iSCSI initiators

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Logical Port
 Logical ports are created based on bond ports, VLAN ports, or Ethernet ports. The logical ports are virtual ports
that carry host services.
 A unique IP address is allocated to each logical port for carrying its services.

No. Description
Logical port
Indicates that multiple Ethernet ports are
1 4
bonded to form a bond port.
One to One to
Indicates that an Ethernet port is added to 5
2 many many
multiple VLANs.
Indicates that a bond port is added to 3
3 One to One to
multiple VLANs. Bond port VLAN
many many
Indicates that a bond port is used to
4
create multiple logical ports.
Indicates that a VLAN port is used to Many to One to
5 2
one many 6
create multiple logical ports.
1
Indicates that an Ethernet port is used to
6
create multiple logical ports. Ethernet port

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Network on which two ports are bonded

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VLAN Configuration
 VLAN is a technology that logically divides a physical LAN into multiple broadcast domains.
 Ethernet ports or bond ports in a storage system can be added to multiple independent VLANs. You
can configure different services in different VLANs to ensure the security and reliability of service
data.

VLAN 1 VLAN 2 VLAN 3 VLAN k

ID = 1 ID = 2 ID = 3 ...... ID = k

Ethernet port

Bond port
P0 P1 P2 P3 Storage device
Adding ports to VLANs

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IP Address Failover
 IP address failover indicates that a logical IP address fails over from a faulty port to an available port. In this
way, services are switched from the faulty port to the available port without interruption. The faulty port can
take over services back after being recovered.
 During the IP address failover, services are switched from the faulty port to the available port, ensuring service
continuity and improving reliability of paths for accessing file systems. This process is transparent to users.
 The essence is a service switchover between ports. The ports can be Ethernet ports, bond ports, or VLAN ports.

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Ethernet Port–based IP Address Failover
 To improve reliability of paths for accessing file systems, you can create logical ports based on Ethernet ports.
 When the Ethernet port that corresponds to a logical port fails, the system will:

 Locate an available Ethernet

port of the same type.
 Delete the logical port from
the faulty Ethernet port.
Search
 Create the same logical port Logical port A Logical port A
Logical port A
on the available Ethernet port (IP address a)
Port fault
(IP address a)
Port switchover
to carry services.
 Ensure service continuity.

Ethernet port A Ethernet port A Ethernet port B

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Bond Port–based IP Address Failover
 To improve reliability of paths for accessing file systems, you can bond multiple Ethernet ports to form a bond
port.
 When the Ethernet ports that are used to create the bond port fails, the system will:

 Locate an available port.

 Delete the logical port created on
the faulty port. High-speed
data
 Create a logical port with the same transmission
Search
IP address on the available port. Logical port A Logical port A
Logical port A
 Switch services to the available (IP address a) (IP address a)
Port fault Port switchover
port.
After the faulty port recovers, it can
take over services again. Ethernet port A Ethernet port A Ethernet port C
Ethernet port B Ethernet port B Ethernet port D
Bond port A Bond port A Bond port A

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VLAN-based IP Address Failover
 You can create VLANs to isolate different services.
 When an Ethernet port on a VLAN fails, the system will:

 Locate an available port of the

same type.
 Delete the logical port from the
faulty port. Search
Logical port A Logical port A
Logical port A
 Create the same logical port on (IP address a) (IP address a)
Port fault Port switchover

the available port.

 Switch services to the available
Ethernet port A Ethernet port A Ethernet port B
port.
VLAN A VLAN A VLAN B
ID = 1 ID = 1 ID = 1

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 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
▫ IP SAN Technologies
 FC SAN Technologies
▫ Comparison Between IP SAN and FC SAN

4. Distributed Architecture

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FC HBA

The FC HBA converts SCSI

packets into Fibre Channel
FC HBA packets, which does not
consume host resources.

Fibre Channel
FC SAN
protocol-based

Internal bus

Storage device FC network

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FC Network

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Zoning

Zone 1: Server 1 can Zone 2: Server 2 can

access Storage 1. access Storage 2.

Server 1 Server 2

Storage 1 Storage 2

Zone 3: Server 3 can

access Storage 1 and
Storage 3 Storage 2.
Server 3

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 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
▫ IP SAN Technologies

▫ FC SAN Technologies
 Comparison Between IP SAN and FC SAN

4. Distributed Architecture

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IP SAN and FC SAN

IP SAN FC SAN

iSCSI
FC FC
IP

IP
FC F
C
iSCSI

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Comparison Between IP SAN and FC SAN
Item IP SAN FC SAN
Dedicated Fibre Channel networks and
Network architecture Existing IP networks
HBAs
Transmission Limited by the maximum transmission
Not limited theoretically
distance distance of optical fibers
Management and Complicated technologies and
As simple as operating IP devices
maintenance management
Compatibility Compatible with all IP network devices Poor compatibility

High purchase (Fibre Channel switches,

Lower purchase and maintenance costs HBAs, Fibre Channel disk arrays, and so
Cost than FC SAN, higher return on on) and maintenance (staff training,
investment (ROI) system configuration and supervision,
and so on) costs
Disaster recovery Local and remote DR available based on
High hardware and software costs for DR
(DR) existing networks at a low cost
Security Relatively low Relatively high

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Comparison Between DAS, NAS, and SAN
Storage System Architecture DAS NAS SAN

Data transmission protocol SCSI/FC/ATA TCP/IP FC

Transport object Data block File Data block

Using standard file sharing protocols No Yes (NFS/CIFS......) No

Centralized management Not sure. Yes Management tools required

Improving server efficiency No Yes Yes

Disaster tolerance Low High High, dedicated solution

Application scope SME servers and JBOD SME, monitoring, and broadcasting Large enterprises and data centers

Application environment LAN LAN Fibre channel storage domain

40Capacity expansion
Huawei Confidentialcapability
Documents are seldom shared, the
operation platform is independent,
and the number of servers is small.
Low
Documents are highly shared, and
different media formats have high
storage requirements.
Medium
network
Complex network environment, high
degree of document sharing,
heterogeneous operating system
platform, and a large number of
servers.
High
 Contents

1. DAS
2. NAS
3. SAN
4. Distributed Architecture

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Scale-out Storage Networking

Node 1
Front-end service
network
Node 2

Node 3
Management
network
Node 4

Node 5
Back-end storage network

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Networking Overview
 Front-end service/Tenant network
 The front-end service/tenant network is used to interconnect the scale-out storage with the customer network. It provides the tenant
UI for tenant users to complete operations such as resource application and usage query, and processes service requests sent by tenant
clients or APIs.

 Back-end storage network

 The back-end storage/internal management network is used for internal interconnection between nodes. It provides heartbeat
communication between high availability (HA) components such as the data service subsystem (DSS), and internal communication and
data interaction between components.

 Management network
 The management network is used to interconnect with the customer's maintenance network. It provides a management UI for the
system administrator to perform service operations such as system configuration, tenant management, resource management, and service
provisioning, as well as maintenance operations such as alarm, performance, and topology management. In addition, the Mgmt ports of
all physical nodes can be aggregated to provide remote device maintenance capabilities, such as remotely logging in to the virtual KVM
of a device and viewing hardware running data such as temperature and voltage.

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Network Planes

Management Management
Private client Standard protocol node
node FSM
access mode FSM access mode

Storage node Compute node Storage node Compute node

REP REP
VBS Application Application
VBS/
EDS EDS HDFS-
SVR

OSD OSD

Third-place
Third-place
DR site quorum DR site Management plane:
quorum server
server Storage plane:
Replication plane:
Arbitration plane:
Service plane:

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Networking Rules
 Nodes must be placed in a cabinet from bottom to top.
 A deployment solution is usually chosen based on project requirements. The total power
consumption and weight of the storage nodes, switches, and KVM in a cabinet must be
calculated and the number of nodes that can be housed by a cabinet must be determined
based on the equipment room conditions.
 In typical configuration, nodes and switches in the base cabinet are connected through
network cables and SFP+ cables, and nodes in an expansion cabinet connect to switches in
the base cabinet through network cables and optical fibers.

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 Quiz
1. Which of the following are included in scale-out storage networking?
A. Management network

B. Front-end service network

C. Front-end storage network

D. Back-end storage network

2. Which of the following protocols are commonly used in SAN networking?

E. FC

F. iSCSI

G. CIFS

H. NFS

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 Summary

DAS

NAS IP SAN
Storage network
architecture evolution
SAN FC SAN

Distributed architecture Comparison between IP SAN and FC SAN

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 Recommendations

 Huawei official websites

 Enterprise business: https://e.huawei.com/en/
 Technical support: https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/index.html
 Online learning: https://www.huawei.com/en/learning

 Popular tools
 HedEx Lite
 Network Document Tool Center
 Information Query Assistant

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Acronyms and Abbreviations
Direct Attached Storage (DAS): An external storage device is directly connected to a computer through a cable.

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID): It is a technology that provides a disk group (logical disk) consisting of multiple disks
(physical disks) combined in different modes. The disk group features higher storage performance over a single disk and supports data
redundancy.

Redirect on write (ROW): A core technology used to create file system snapshots. When a source file system receives a write request to modify
existing data, the storage system writes the new data to a new location and directs the BP of the modified data block to the new location.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN): A VLAN is a group of hosts with a common set of requirements that communicate as if they were attached
to the same broadcast domain, regardless of their physical location. VLAN membership can be configured through software instead of physically
relocating devices or connections.

HBA: Host Bus Adapter

KVM: keyboard, video, and mouse. You can use the KVM to remotely view the screen of the terminal host or use the local mouse and keyboard
to remotely control the terminal host. In this way, the administrator can remotely solve the problems that occur on the terminal host.

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每个组织，构建万物互联的智能世界。
Bring digital to every person, home, and
organization for a fully connected,
intelligent world.

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All Rights Reserved.

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