SAN Terminology

To configure Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance to operate on a SAN, you should understand some basic SAN terms:

Table 2-30 SAN Terminology

Term	Description
SCSI Target	A SCSI Target is a storage system end-point that provides a service of processing SCSI commands and I/O requests from an initiator. A SCSI Target is created by the storage system's administrator, and is identified by unique addressing methods. A SCSI Target, once configured, consists of zero or more logical units.
SCSI Initiator	A SCSI Initiator is an application or production system end-point that is capable of initiating a SCSI session, sending SCSI commands and I/O requests. SCSI Initiators are also identified by unique addressing methods (See SCSI Target).
Logical Unit	A Logical Unit is a term used to describe a component in a storage system. Uniquely numbered, this creates what is referred to as a Logical Unit Number or LUN. A storage system, being highly configurable, may contain many LUNS. These LUNs, when associated with one or more SCSI Targets, forms a unique SCSI device, a device that can be accessed by one or more SCSI Initiators.
iSCSI	Internet SCSI (iSCSI) is a protocol for sharing SCSI-based storage over IP networks. The appliance supports the SCSI-3 Persistent Reservations specification.
iSER	iSCSI Extension for RDMA (iSER) is a protocol that maps the iSCSI protocol over a network that provides RDMA services (that is, InfiniBand). The iSER protocol is transparently selected by the iSCSI subsystem, based on the presence of correctly configured IB hardware. In the CLI and BUI, all iSER-capable components (targets and initiators) are managed as iSCSI components.
FC	Fibre Channel (FC) is a protocol for sharing SCSI based storage over a storage area network (SAN), consisting of fiber-optic cables, FC switches and HBAs. The appliance supports 4GB and 8GB Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) topologies.
SRP	SCSI RDMA Protocol (SRP) is a protocol for sharing SCSI-based storage over a network that provides RDMA services (that is, InfiniBand).
IQN	An iSCSI qualified name (IQN) is the unique identifier of a device in an iSCSI network. iSCSI uses the form iqn.date.authority:uniqueid for IQNs. For example, the appliance may use the IQN: iqn.1986-03.com.example:02:c7824a5b-f3ea-6038-c79d-ca443337d92c to identify one of its iSCSI targets. This name shows that this is an iSCSI device built by a company registered in March of 1986. The naming authority is just the DNS name of the company reversed, in this case, com.example. Everything following is a unique ID that the company uses to identify the target.
Target Portal	When using the iSCSI protocol, the Target Portal refers to the unique combination of an IP address and TCP port number by which an initiator can contact a target.
Target Portal Group	When using the iSCSI protocol, a Target Portal Group is a collection of target portals. Target portal groups are managed transparently; each network interface has a corresponding target portal group with that interface's active addresses. Binding a target to an interface advertises that iSCSI target using the portal group associated with that interface.
CHAP	Challenge-handshake authentication protocol (CHAP) is a security protocol that can authenticate a target to an initiator, an initiator to a target, or both.
RADIUS	RADIUS is a system for using a centralized server to perform authentication on behalf of storage nodes.
Target Group	A set of targets. LUNs are exported over all the targets in one specific Target Group.
Initiator Group	A set of initiators. When an Initiator Group is associated with a LUN, only initiators from that group may access the LUN.
Target	A storage system end-point that provides a service of processing SCSI commands and I/O requests from an initiator. A Target is created by the storage system administrator, and is identified by unique addressing methods. A target, once configured, consists of zero or more logical units.
Initiator	An application or production system end-point that is capable of initiating a SCSI session, sending SCSI commands and I/O requests. Initiators are also identified by unique addressing methods.

Each LUN has several properties which control how the volume is exported. For more information, see Protocols.