iSCSI SAN Storage or FC SAN- Which is More Suitable for Businesses?

SAN or Storage Area Network, is a good data storage solution for businesses that want to do a lot more with their data storage solution than to just use it for storage. Many businesses keep scratching their heads on deciding which storage protocol should they opt for. That is, whether iSCSI storage or Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. If you are lost in this trail of thought then this article will surely help you.

iSCSI Storage 

iSCSI storage offers an affordable alternative to FC SAN storage but that does not mean that it is not performance oriented. The reason behind its affordability and performance is the fact that it can leverage a regular IP network to connect the servers to the storage array.

Having said that, iSCSI storage still requires special adapters to convert iSCSI protocol to IP but does not require any special network components. As a matter of fact, it’s possible to use a regular network card in conjunction with an iSCSI software initiator to implement an iSCSI storage SAN without the need of any special equipment.

iSCSI storage is more suitable for Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). This is mainly because iSCSI storage is more accessible and affordable to SMBs than FC SAN storage. The cost of equipment is low and it is fairly easy and affordable to manage. This makes SAN solution in general cost-effective and a great option for SMBs that are on a budget.

FC SAN Storage

When it comes to FC SAN, the case is quite different than iSCSI storage. FC SAN offers more performance than iSCSI storage and is often used by larger enterprises.

Other than this, FC SAN network requires special adapters called host bus adapters (HBAs), FC cables and FC switches which have to be purchased separately and this makes FC SAN a costly option. But it offers relatively more performance than iSCSI SAN. So, if a business needs high performance, then FC SAN is their best option and this is why most large enterprises these days use FC SAN.

In Conclusion

Whether it is iSCSI SAN or FC SAN, both protocols are great in their respective use cases. It is important to first fully understand and research the product and the features and incline them with your business use case before making a decision.

iSCSI storage is more ideal for SMBs due to the cost-effective nature of the system. However, if there are no cost limitations and the business needs a more advanced and powerful solution that offers high-performance then FC SAN is the way to go in that use case.