Storage News

Using Virtualization to Improve Networked Storage Management

Storage virtualization is closely related to server and desktop virtualization and can help organizations better manage the increased demand for networked storage. Also noted in this Virtual Strategy Magazine article, is that server virtualization is accelerating the shift to networked storage.

"Storage virtualization is closely related to server and desktop virtualization and can help organizations better manage the increased demand for networked storage. While server virtualization decouples the physical relationship between the application or operating system and a physical server, storage virtualization decouples the physical relationship between the application or user and a physical storage device. This decoupling actually has the inverse affect in the storage layer as in the server layer. Instead of making a single physical server appear as many virtual servers, storage virtualization makes many physical storage devices appear as a single virtual storage device. Storage virtualization can be an elegant solution for managing the increased demand for networked storage as it is typically architected as a network-based solution.

"File virtualization is a type of storage virtualization that focuses on managing the fastest growing type of data. File virtualization allows file data to be moved without disrupting user and application clients. In a physical world, client systems are physically mapped to specific network shares and exports. In the virtual world, client systems are logically mapped to virtual shares and exports presented by the virtualization device. The impact that this has on how organizations manage file data cannot be overstated. Many of the most pressing storage management challenges derive from the lack of data mobility – disruptive data migrations, poor and inconsistent storage utilization, high costs, and so on. File virtualization hides data movement at the physical layer from user and application clients to enable flexibility in where and how data is stored."