At Practical Networks we design our NAS, DAS & SAN Storage Servers around the varying needs of our customers. All the range are affordable, reliable and industry proven enclosures, perfect for any storage application. Whether implementing a DAS, NAS, Fibre Channel SAN or iSCSI SAN (IP SAN) these highly dependable chassis are rugged and reliable.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

One approach to scaling storage without having to scale servers at the same time is the use of NAS - Network Attached Storage - which connects directly to an IP LAN and is available to all servers - receiving, storing and returning data as files from a mix of different operating system types.

NAS is a storage appliance that stores and manages data access and retrieval on behalf of a number of IP attached Servers and Users. One of the biggest advantages of a NAS system is that it is can be attached anywhere to the network with the minimum disruption and impact on operational procedures.

If you need to increase the available Storage on your network without the cost implications of deploying a traditional File Server, we offer a range of NAS products that can be attached quickly and directly to your Ethernet Network to provide significant additional Disk Capacity at a very competitive price point.

Direct Attached Storage (DAS)

Typically DAS is a disk drive or disk subsystem which is either in the same enclosure as the server or attached by a short heavy cable. Direct Attached Storage (DAS) is normally connected to the server by a SCSI bus.

Fibre Channel Storage Area Network (SAN)

A SAN is an architecture designed to meet the requirement of enterprise networking storage behind the server. In large enterprises, a SAN connects multiple servers to a centralized pool of disk storage. Compared to managing hundreds of servers, each with their own disks, SANs improve system administration.

By treating all the company's storage as a single resource, disk maintenance and routine backups are easier to schedule and control. In some SANs, the disks themselves can copy data to other disks for backup without any processing overhead at the host computers.

The SAN network allows data transfers between computers and disks at the same high peripheral channel speeds as when they are directly attached. Fibre Channel is a driving force with SANs and is typically used to encapsulate SCSI commands.