Affinities allow you to allocate different classes of storage to different purposes, without forcing users to adhere to annoying rules. Using Xsan administration tools, you can set up an affinity between a folder and a specific storage pool, so that files in the folder are stored only on that pool. Seamless to the end user, affinities ensure that an application or task that requires speed or extra protection always stores its files in a suitably fast or protected pool.
If, for example, you set up storage pools with different balances of performance and data redundancy, users can choose between faster and safer storage by putting files in the appropriate folder.