About the NetApp Data Storage System
The NetApp storage systems, such as the Fabric-Attached Storage (FAS) system and the NearStore system, function as both Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) storage devices that support a multiprotocol environment for data access. These devices are called Unified Storage Devices (USDs).
A NetApp unified storage system supports multiprotocol data access. It can be configured as a Fibre Channel, an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) SAN, and a NAS device simultaneously. The NetApp storage system supports storage objects such as aggregates, volumes, logical unit numbers (LUNs), Qtrees, and so on, and provides open interfaces such as Data ONTAP APIs, SNMP, SMI-S agent that enables you to monitor and manage various components of the NetApp storage system.
NetApp open interfaces are used for unified storage capacity management. These interfaces simplify the capacity management of the NetApp storage systems when multiple protocols are supported and multiple objects are being managed. The NetApp storage systems export data as files through two primary protocols: Network File System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS). Also, the storage system exports data as blocks through the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) or iSCSI, and operate as SAN-attached disk arrays.
For more information, see your NetApp documentation.