SVMs with FlexVol volumes provide block-level data access through what type of protocol?

SVMs, or Storage Virtual Machines, with FlexVol volumes provide block-level data access primarily through SAN protocols, such as iSCSI, Fibre Channel (FC), and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). These protocols allow for the transmission of data as blocks, which is essential for applications requiring high performance and low latency access to data.

In a SAN setup, the storage resources are presented in a way that underlies a more efficient method for accessing storage over a network when compared to file-level protocols. This approach is common in environments where high-speed access and optimal storage performance are critical, such as in database applications and virtualized environments. The use of SAN protocols enables direct access to the storage at the block level, facilitating operations such as creating, deleting, or resizing volumes, which is not inherently supported by file-level protocols like CIFS or NFS that are more suited for file-based access.

As a result, the answer regarding the use of SAN protocols for block-level data access aligns with the operational characteristics and best practices of SVMs combined with FlexVol volumes in a NetApp storage architecture.