Glossary Term

SAN Attachment

Connecting an IBM i partition to external storage area network hardware instead of relying solely on internal DASD.

Definition

SAN attachment lets an IBM i partition use external storage array capacity through supported host adapters, which is common when a business wants to consolidate storage management across multiple platforms on shared infrastructure. It requires specific adapter and firmware compatibility between the Power server and the SAN fabric.

Buyers considering SAN attachment for the first time should confirm both server-side adapter support and SAN array support for IBM i attachment specifically, since generic host compatibility is not always sufficient.

Example

A company running IBM i alongside other platforms may attach IBM i storage to the same SAN array already serving its other servers.