Apple Xsan 1.x - Manual (Page 28)

28 Chapter 3 Deployment Examples
Example 1: Network Attached Storage
Network attached storage (NAS) is commonly used to provide centralized, manageable
storage for clients on the Internet or on a private intranet. A typical NAS appliance
contains storage devices and a controller that gives clients access to the storage using
a network file system such as NFS, AFP, or SMB/CIFS.
You can use a combination of Xserve and Xserve RAID to provide NAS and, in addition,
provide other server services that NAS appliances can’t offer. Adding Xsan lets you set
up a NAS service that is easy to expand, both in terms of storage capacity and file
system services, without impact to clients.
Fibre
channel switch
Storage users
Xserve
RAID
Intranet/
Internet
Controller/
file server Standby
controller/
file server File server File server
Ethernet - TCP/IP
(Public)
Ethernet - TCP/IP
(Private)