How LUNs work

The following section describes how LUNs work by interacting with Windows hosts and with storage systems.

• How the storage system interacts with the LUN
  To the storage system , a LUN is a logical representation of a physical unit of storage.
• How Windows hosts interact with a LUN
  You manage LUNs on the storage system just as you manage other Windows disks that store application data.
• LUN capabilities and limitations
  A LUN managed by SnapDrive can be used for data storage and can be a boot disk. A LUN cannot be a dynamic disk.
• Protocols for LUN access
  You can access the SnapDrive-created LUNs using either FC or iSCSI protocol, or both.
• How data is accessed from LUNs
  In a SAN environment, an initiator (on the Windows host) initiates a SCSI I/O operation to a target ( storage system ). The operation can be initiated using either the FC or the iSCSI protocol, depending on the type of initiator installed on your Windows host and the setup on the target. A target can receive SCSI requests using FC if a supported HBA is installed and FC is licensed. Similarly, a target can receive SCSI requests using iSCSI if a supported HBA or the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator is installed, and if iSCSI is licensed.