Know your gear
Sometimes, a large file server or database server may be configured as a storage node primarily for the backup of local data. Such a configuration prevents data from traversing the IP network, maximizing backup and recovery performance and reducing network congestion. Dedicated storage nodes provide this capability for SAN environments. A dedicated storage node does not provide service to network clients. Instead, a dedicated storage node is configured to back up its data directly to a SAN-attached storage device, such as a tape library. Multiple dedicated storage nodes can share a single storage device.