Virtual data storage is gaining popularity as an increasingly popular choice for companies looking to reduce IT costs. In actual fact, since these solutions do not require the hardware redundancies typically needed in traditional enterprise storage systems for disaster recovery, they can reduce upfront costs and ongoing operating costs by significantly.
Virtual data storage enables IT to pool physical data storage devices such as SANs into what appears to be one device or virtual storage array. There are several ways to utilize the technology such as host-based virtualization and network-based storage (which integrates storage devices from an FC or iSCSI storage device into a single pool addressed by a central management console). Host-based virtualization is often used in HCI Systems and Cloud Storage.
To function with virtual storage, it has to be compatible with the hardware infrastructure such as networking components and servers, along with the most common management tools and hypervisors. It should also provide encryption of data, granular authentication and access controls as well as robust check over here backup and disaster recovery capabilities.
Virtual storage must also be able address issues with latency and performance. This means that crucial applications run without compromising performance or adding to the time required to retrieve data. This involves evaluating the storage controller’s capabilities, network bandwidth, and capacity of disk I/O as well as implementing caching mechanisms. It also requires the use of advanced storage functions like replication, tiering, and virtualization at the virtualization layer.
