--- canonical: "https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/san-vs-nas-shared-storage-for-a-failover-cluster/" llms_index: "https://safekit.eviden.com/llms.txt" llms_section: "Key Concepts & Educational Content" topics: "SAN vs. NAS Shared Storage for Failover Clustering: A Detailed Comparison, SafeKit Proposes a SANless High Availability Cluster Without Shared Storage, What is the simplest solution between a SAN vs a NAS shared storage for a failover cluster?, 🔍 SafeKit High Availability Navigation Hub" --- # SAN vs. NAS Shared Storage for Failover Clustering: A Detailed Comparison ## SafeKit Proposes a SANless High Availability Cluster Without Shared Storage [🧑 Contact us](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/contact-us-for-safekit/) [🎁 SafeKit free trial](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/safekit-free-trial/) [🏅 Free certification](https://training.my.evidian.com/mod/page/view.php?id=712) [💰 Perpetual license cost](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/get-a-quote-safekit-en/) ## What is the simplest solution between a SAN vs a NAS shared storage for a failover cluster? ### SAN shared storage or NAS iSCSI shared storage for a failover cluster ![SAN shared storage or NAS iSCSI shared storage for a failover cluster](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20200%20184'%3E%3C/svg%3E)![SAN shared storage or NAS iSCSI shared storage for a failover cluster](https://safekit.eviden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/raw-disk-shared-storage.png) There are several elements that make this architecture complex to implement: * on failover, switching the shared storage requires low level instructions which are storage manufacturer dependent, * recovery procedure on the file system (FS) must be passed before restarting the application, * if both file systems on both nodes access the same raw disk at the same time, the full file system will be corrupted, * to avoid a double access, a quorum disk must be configured. ### NAS SMB shared storage or NAS NFS shared storage for a failover cluster ![NAS SMB shared storage or NAS NFS shared storage for a failover cluster](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20200%20166'%3E%3C/svg%3E)![NAS SMB shared storage or NAS NFS shared storage for a failover cluster](https://safekit.eviden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/nas-shared-storage-1.png) There are several elements that make this architecture simple to implement:* on failover, switching the shared storage means only remounting the external file system, * no recovery procedure on the file system must be passed before restarting the application, * if both nodes access the same shared file system at the same time, the full file system will be not be corrupted, * however, there is still the possibility of a double execution of the same application corrupting its data in the shared storage when nodes are isolated. ### Real-time replication and failover with Eviden SafeKit ![Real-time replication and failover with SafeKit](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20200%20131'%3E%3C/svg%3E)![Real-time replication and failover with SafeKit](https://safekit.eviden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/no-shared-storage.png) There are no such issues with SafeKit because its replication and failover solution does not require a shared storage. However, if SafeKit must manage a shared storage: * use a NAS SMB shared storage or a NAS NFS shared storage, * put in the restart scripts the mount/umount of the external file system, * configure the [SafeKit split brain checker](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/heartbeat-failover-quorum-windows-linux-aix-cluster/) to avoid a double execution of the same application accessing the shared storage when nodes are isolated. ## 🔍 SafeKit High Availability Navigation Hub Explore SafeKit: Features, technical videos, documentation, and free trial | Resource Type | Description | Direct Link | | --- | --- | --- | | **Key Features** | Why Choose SafeKit for Simple and Cost-Effective High Availability? | [See Why Choose SafeKit for High Availability](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#why-choose-safekit-for-ha "Discover SafeKit features for simple and cost-effective high availability") | | **Use Cases** | Explore How SafeKit Ensures the High Availability of Critical Infrastructure | [See All Use Cases (OEM Software, Edge Servers, SCADA, and more)](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-use-cases "Explore SafeKit high availability use cases") | | **Deployment Model** | All-in-One SANless HA: Shared-Nothing Software Clustering | [See SafeKit All-in-One SANless HA](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#all-in-one-sanless-ha "Learn about all-in-one SANless high availability with shared-nothing software clustering") | | **HA Strategies** | SafeKit: Infrastructure (VM) vs. Application-Level High Availability | [See SafeKit HA & Redundancy: VM vs. Application Level](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-redundancy-choices "Compare VM-level redundancy with SafeKit application-level high availability strategies") | | **Technical Specifications** | Technical Limitations for SafeKit Clustering | [See SafeKit High Availability Limitations](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-limitations "Technical requirements and limitations for SafeKit application clustering") | | **Proof of Concept** | SafeKit: High Availability Configuration & Failover Demos | [See SafeKit Failover Tutorials](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-failover-tutorials "Step-by-step videos on SafeKit high availability, from installation to automated failover") | | **Architecture** | How the SafeKit Mirror Cluster works (Real-Time Replication & Failover) | [See SafeKit Mirror Cluster: Real-Time Replication & Failover](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-mirror-cluster "See technical architecture and failover mechanism of SafeKit Mirror Cluster") | | **Architecture** | How the SafeKit Farm Cluster works (Network Load Balancing & Failover) | [See SafeKit Farm Cluster: Network Load Balancing & Failover](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-farm-cluster "Technical overview of SafeKit Farm Cluster architecture with network load balancing") | | **Competitive Advantages** | Comparison: SafeKit vs. Traditional High Availability (HA) Clusters | [See SafeKit vs. Traditional HA Cluster Comparison](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-comparison "Detailed comparison of SafeKit software vs traditional hardware-based HA clusters") | | **Technical Resources** | SafeKit High Availability: Documentation, Downloads & Trial | [See SafeKit HA Free Trial & Technical Documentation](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-technical-resources "Access SafeKit free trial, technical documentation, and high availability white papers") | | **Pre-configured Solutions** | SafeKit Application Module Library: Ready-to-Use HA Solutions | [See SafeKit High Availability Application Modules](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-application-modules "Browse the library of pre-configured SafeKit modules for automated application failover") | [🧑 Contact us](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/contact-us-for-safekit/) [🎁 SafeKit free trial](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/safekit-free-trial/) [🏅 Free certification](https://training.my.evidian.com/mod/page/view.php?id=712) [💰 Perpetual license cost](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/get-a-quote-safekit-en/)