What Is ISCSI NAS?
ISCSI NAS is an Ethernet-based storage protocol that enables the management of mission critical data with the complexity and expense of Fibre Channel. It is not a NAS versus SAN world, rather it is both. ISCSI is a way to utilize existing tools for data storage; there's no question that ISCSI provides secure storage for both small and large corporations.

Unlike Fibre Channel, ISCSI and NAS operate over the same type of network and so would appear to compete for the same storage market. The response of the NAS and SAN vendors has traditionally been to simply provide both NAS and ISCSI to customers. ISCSI technology enables companies to leverage standard, familiar Ethernet networking systems for reliable data protection at cost effective prices.

Storage the Affordable Way

As opposed to direct-attached storage, ISCSI technology enables users to share storage resources across various servers, as well as expand storage capacity. ISCSI also provides highly affordable secondary storage or data protection solutions for corporate data centers. It is particularly attractive for remote data backup centers where Fibre Channel solutions are not a cost-effective option.

NAS has been condemned in the past for being too slow and unscalable, though easier to deploy than SAN. Technically speaking, a network-attached storage device is not in reality a "storage attached to a network." Rather, it is really network-attached file serving. ISCSI NAS is but another excellent alternative to expensive Fibre Channel, as it provides flexibility and reliability without the heavy cost.