Avoid overspending on storage-area networks by matching features to your needs. But what's not so clear is the balance between costs and benefits. SAN backbone to which vendors attach disk arrays, tape libraries, optical disks and other resources. Servers access the SAN either through Ethernet bridges or by direct connection using a Fibre Channel host adapter. Each function you choose, however, adds to the total cost.
SANs are expensive, and prices vary widely.
The three companies profiled below each had different storage requirements. Here's what they got in return. Mission-Critical WorldStor Inc. in Fairfax, Va., is a storage service provider, offering storage as a utility to companies that have elected to outsource their storage operations. The company needed very high reliability because of the nature of its business and wanted a vendor with a proven SAN architecture. Bishop eliminated some vendors almost immediately.