10+ Storage Administrator Interview Questions and Answers

There are three types of topologies in SAN: point-to-point, arbitrated loop, and switched fabric.

• Point-to-point topology connects two devices directly.

• Arbitrated loop topology connects devices in a loop, where each device has a unique address.

• Switched fabric topology connects devices through a central switch, allowing multiple simultaneous connections.

• Examples: Fibre Channel (FC) and Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) are commonly used SAN topologies.

Zoning is a method of dividing a storage area network (SAN) into smaller, isolated sections to improve performance and security.

• Zoning is used to control access to specific resources within a SAN.

• It can be done at the port level, device level, or WWN level.

• Zoning can be hard or soft, depending on whether it is enforced by hardware or software.

• Upgrading a SAN may require changes to zoning configurations to accommodate new hardware or software.

• I have been part of SAN upgrades t...read more

I have worked on various storage devices including SAN, NAS, DAS, and cloud storage.

• SAN (Storage Area Network) devices such as EMC VMAX and IBM DS8000

• NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices like NetApp FAS and EMC Isilon

• DAS (Direct Attached Storage) devices including external hard drives and USB drives

• Cloud storage platforms like Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID 5 and RAID 6 are types of RAID configurations for data storage.

• RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components into one or more logical units for the purposes of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both.

• RAID 5 uses block-level striping with distributed parity. It requires at least three disks to implement and provide...read more

Multipathing is a technique used in storage systems to provide redundancy and load balancing by using multiple paths between servers and storage devices.

• Multipathing improves storage system performance and availability.

• It allows for load balancing by distributing I/O traffic across multiple paths.

• Redundancy is achieved by having multiple paths in case one fails.

• Multipathing can be implemented at the hardware or software level.

• Examples of multipathing technologies include MPIO...read more

Reduplication is the process of eliminating duplicate data in storage systems.

• Reduplication reduces storage space requirements and improves backup and recovery times.

• It works by identifying and removing identical data blocks and replacing them with pointers to a single copy.

• For example, if multiple users have the same file attachment in their emails, reduplication will store only one copy of the attachment and point to it from all the emails.

• Reduplication is commonly used in ...read more

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. It is a file-level storage device that provides centralized data storage and access over a computer network.

• NAS is a storage device that connects to a network and allows multiple users to access and share files.

• It provides file-level access, meaning users can access individual files and folders stored on the NAS.

• NAS devices often have their own operating system and can offer additional features like data backup, remote access, and medi...read more

Replication is the process of creating and maintaining a copy of data or information in another location.

• Replication ensures data availability and disaster recovery.

• It can be synchronous or asynchronous.

• Examples include database replication, file replication, and virtual machine replication.

RAID is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components into one or more logical units for the purposes of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both. Vserver, Lifs, NFS, and CIFS are concepts related to network-attached storage (NAS) and file sharing.

• RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks and is used to improve data reliability and performance.

• Vserver is a virtual storage container that allows for logical se...read more

SAN protocols include iSCSI, Fibre Channel, FCoE, and InfiniBand.

• iSCSI uses TCP/IP to transmit SCSI commands over Ethernet networks.

• Fibre Channel is a high-speed network technology used for storage networking.

• FCoE is a protocol that encapsulates Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks.

• InfiniBand is a high-speed interconnect technology used for data centers and HPC environments.

SAN is a dedicated network for storage while NAS uses existing network infrastructure for storage.

• SAN is a block-level storage while NAS is file-level storage.

• SAN is faster and more expensive than NAS.

• SAN requires specialized hardware while NAS uses standard hardware.

• SAN is used for high-performance applications while NAS is used for file sharing and backup.

• Examples of SAN include Fibre Channel and iSCSI while examples of NAS include NFS and SMB.

Topologies refer to the layout of a computer network, while types refer to the different configurations within a topology.

• Topologies include bus, ring, star, mesh, and hybrid

• Types within a topology include LAN, WAN, MAN, and PAN

• Examples: Bus Topology, LAN Type

Fibre Channel is a high-speed network technology commonly used for storage area networks (SANs) to connect servers to storage devices.

• Fibre Channel is a dedicated high-speed network technology used for connecting servers to storage devices.

• It provides high bandwidth and low latency for data transfer.

• Fibre Channel uses optical fiber cables to transmit data over long distances.

• It is commonly used in storage area networks (SANs) for reliable and fast data storage access.

• Fibre Ch...read more

SnapMirror is a data replication feature in NetApp storage systems.

• SnapMirror allows for efficient and flexible data replication between NetApp storage systems.

• It can replicate data at the volume or aggregate level.

• SnapMirror supports various replication topologies such as cascading and fan-in/fan-out.

• It provides features like data compression, deduplication, and encryption for secure replication.

• SnapMirror can be used for disaster recovery, data migration, and data distribut...read more

There are different types of replication, including synchronous, asynchronous, and snapshot replication.

• Synchronous replication ensures that data is replicated to multiple locations simultaneously, providing real-time data protection.

• Asynchronous replication allows for a delay between data being written to the primary storage and being replicated to secondary storage.

• Snapshot replication creates point-in-time copies of data for backup and recovery purposes.