FAN: An Architecture for Scalable, Service-oriented Data Management

With the advent of Web 2.0 and Service Oriented Application architectures, file-encapsulation is rapidly becoming the pervasive means for storing, distributing, and managing business data by policy, however, until very recently, a unified scalable, light weight, policy-based file management architecture was not available. Today, enterprises have a tool at their disposal that leverages file virtualization, network-based policy enforcement, and globally distributed access, in an inclusive and open approach that not only 'allows' but 'calls for' multiple vendor technologies to interoperate - the file area network or FAN. The changes brought about by FAN architectures are analogous to the changes that took place in the 1990's as storage area networks (SANs) became the popular means to improve heterogeneity and capacity provisioning for block mode data; however while the problems of growth and complexity remain the same, the challenge today is managing file-based information, rather than raw blocks.

Learning Objectives

How a FAN approach can provide a common reference framework for all file-related technologies
How a FAN delivers huge improvements in management efficiency, access to data, and business agility
The 'Do's and Don'ts' of implementing a FAN, told through actual end user case studies.