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Difficulty: MediumResilience, High Availability, and Redundancy

A system architect is designing high-availability storage connectivity for a mission-critical database server connected to a Storage Area Network (SAN). The design must ensure continuous data access even if a host bus adapter (HBA), interconnect cable, or SAN switch fails, while also balancing traffic across active pathways. Which of the following architectural controls should the security architect implement to fulfill this requirement?

  1. Multipath I/O (MPIO)Answer
  2. B
    RAID 6 storage configuration
  3. C
    Automated off-site backup replication
  4. D
    Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) on edge switches

Answer

Multipath I/O (MPIO) is the correct architectural control to provide high availability and load balancing for SAN storage connectivity across redundant host bus adapters and storage switches.
Multipath I/O (MPIO) is designed specifically to leverage multiple physical connections (host bus adapters, cables, and SAN switches) between a server and a storage array. It provides automatic path failover and load balancing, ensuring continuous operational availability if any single network path component fails.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the technical requirements of the scenario.
The requirement calls for fault tolerance and load balancing across storage interface hardware (HBAs), cabling, and SAN switches for block-level storage access.
Identifying the layer of redundancy needed (storage network transport vs. internal disk array vs. Ethernet LAN) directs the selection of the correct control.
2
Evaluate the capabilities of storage-specific redundant pathway controls.
Multipath I/O (MPIO) recognizes duplicate paths to the same block storage target, dynamically routing traffic around failed host adapters, SAN switches, or cables without dropping the connection.
MPIO operates specifically at the operating system storage driver layer to aggregate separate physical SAN pathways.
3
Differentiate MPIO from non-applicable redundancy controls.
RAID protects local disks, backups provide point-in-time recovery, and standard LACP handles local Ethernet switch ports rather than SAN block storage fabrics.
Preventing single points of failure in storage networks requires path redundancy designed specifically for Fibre Channel or iSCSI storage controllers.

Key Concept

Multipath I/O (MPIO) for SAN Redundancy
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Resilience, High Availability, and Redundancy

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