The exchange of data between servers and storage devices in a SAN takes place by using the fibre channel technology. The fiber channel technology is an American National Standard Institute (ANSI)-standard technology that is used for data transmission between servers and storage devices in a SAN. This technology enables the servers and storage devices in a SAN to communicate at a speed of up to 1 Gbps (100 MBps or 200 MBps) by using dedicated channels called data paths. This technology uses various protocols, such as Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and Internet Protocol (IP), to enable the servers and storage devices to communicate with each other. The fibre channel technology is implemented in a SAN by using various hardware components, which are as follows:

I Host Base Adapter (HBA): Refers to the interface card that provides I/O processing and connectivity between the servers and storage devices connected through a SAN in an enterprise.
 SAN components: Refers to the connectivity devices, such as hubs, switches, and routers, which enable data transfer between the servers and storage devices in an enterprise.

Storage fabric: Refers to the cables used for connecting servers, storage devices, and SAN components to form the SAN environment. These cables can be optical fibers or copper wires.

Implementing a SAN in an enterprise by using fiber channel technology provides various benefits,

which are as follows:

1. Improves data availability and speed of data access by providing multiple data paths between the servers and storage devices in an enterprise.
2. Enables network administrators to perform fast backup and recovery operations. Fast data backup and recovery is possible because the data is transferred across a SAN at the speed of 100 MBps. In addition, SANS also enable network administrators to take back up directly from the storage disks of servers to the tape libraries.
3. Enables multiple servers to share a common set of storage devices, such as disk arrays and tapes, to improve the resource utilization of the storage devices.
4. Enables multiple servers to concurrently access the same tile from a storage device. This improves the speed at which the servers can access data hem the storage devices. 
5. Enables network administrators to add storage resources and servers to an enterprise when the storage requirement of the enterprise increases.

SANS provide the following features that enable the servers and storage devices in an enterprise to exchange data efficiently:

High bandwidth:
Enables servers and storage devices to exchange data at the speed of 100 MBps. This ensures that backup of data stored on servers can be taken at a high speed.

Scalability:
 Enables network administrators of an enterprise to increase the number
of storage devices connected to a SAN, when the storage requirement of the
enterprise increases.

Flexibility:
Enables network administrators of an enterprise to logically partition the storage space on a device into various parts,
called logical units and assign these logical units to different servers.
For example, network administrators can create multiple logical units on disk drives so that multiple database servers can share the same disk drive.
Using logical units to provide storage space to users ensures that the storage devices can be used according to requirement.

Globally available storage:
Enables users in an enterprise to access the storage devices from any location. This ensures that the
employees of an enterprise can access data stored in the enterprise while working at client sites.
Data sharing: Enables multiple servers to concurrently access a single file stored on a storage device. This improves the speed of data access from the storage devices.