— We propose the creation of a wireless storage area network (SAN) and analyze its benefits. The proposed wireless SAN (WSAN) consists of a SAN switch that is connected to multiple wireless access points (APs) that communicate with the storage devices. This network would save space and reduce overall costs by not requiring wired connections. Wireless SANS would also provide more freedom in the placement of storage devices. However, because the number of wireless access points is less than the number of storage devices, it is possible for user data requests to be blocked if all access points are busy. An important design goal is therefore to minimize the probability that a network access request will be blocked.
David W. Griffith, Kotikalapudi Sriram, JingSi Gao