Extension of storage area networks and integration on different platforms of an optical transport network

Storage area networks (SAN) are local optical networks of data centers. These networks are mainly based on a multimode optical fibre infrastructure and specific transmission protocols like ESCON and Fibre Channel. Usually, transmission lengths between data sources and data sinks are limited to some hundred of meters in such a network, but huge data centers have to be interconnected for data mirroring, data backups, disaster recovery and other applications over significantly longer distances. An overview over possibilities for integration of SAN in existing optical networks and an adaptation of transmission protocols is given.