What is Pathing?
Sometimes referred to as path control, pathing is an approach to networking that is geared toward assessing the best way to meet the needs of a given storage network. This unique approach to a storage network is necessary since the needs are different from those of a message network. By creating an order to various communication protocols and managing those protocols effectively, pathing helps to avoid events that could damage or cripple the network. One of the ways that pathing helps to protect storage networks is to close the window for a recovery from network errors. A standard message network is usually configured to allow recovery within a minute or two. A recovery time of this duration is not acceptable in a network storage environment. Proper pathing strategies help to close the gap and make recovery possible within seconds rather than minutes. Effective pathing also helps to minimize the chances of a total system crash. To a degree, this is due to the quick recovery time. Howev
