The idea, according to Sun, is to add intelligence to storage solutions so users may have secure access at any time, using any device from anywhere. The big problem facing the storage industry is that traditional storage architectures are not built to handle the new demands for open standards-based storage that facilitates flexible, dynamic information sharing and management. According to officials at Sun, traditional storage systems are essentially islands of information with limited ability to scale, share data between systems, or to lighten the processing load on data center servers and mainframes. Instead of adding value to the network, traditional storage systems largely just store data. Storage vendors like Sun are seeking to overhaul this island approach, where one server may handle one application while storing data on one dedicated storage system.
SANs provide physical connectivity between storage islands.
Yet this approach adds little functionality to facilitate actual information sharing or to simplify management across the servers, Sun, however, views SANs as the first step to solving some of the storage industry s problems. Through its approach, Sun eliminates the problems of tying islands of information together because it eliminates the islands altogether. By adding intelligence to the SANs, companies are able to match an application to the available storage resources. The goal is optimal performance on the network. The Sun StorEdge line provides the building blocks for the Intelligent Storage Network architecture.