Data ONTAP enables users on client workstations (or hosts) to create, delete, modify, and access files or blocks stored on the storage system.
Storage systems can be deployed in network attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) environments for accessing a full range of enterprise data for users on a variety of platforms. Storage systems can be fabric-attached, network-attached, or direct-attached to support NFS, CIFS, HTTP, and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for file access, and Internet SCSI (iSCSI) for block-storage access, all over TCP/IP, as well as SCSI over Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) for block-storage access, depending on your specific data storage and data management needs.
Client workstations are connected to the storage system through direct-attached or TCP/IP network-attached connections, or through FCP, fabric-attached connections.
For information about configuring a storage system in a network-attached storage (NAS) network, see the System Configuration Guide and the Data ONTAP Network Management Guide.
For information about configuring a storage system in a storage area network (SAN) fabric, see the Compatibility and Configuration Guide for NetApp’s FCP and iSCSI Products and the Data ONTAP Block Access Management Guide for iSCSI and FCP.