Virtual data storage is now an increasingly popular option for businesses looking to reduce IT costs. These solutions can save a significant amount of money as they don’t need the hardware redundancy that is typically required in traditional storage architectures to ensure disaster recovery.
Virtual data storage allows IT departments to pool physical storage devices, such as SANs which appear to be a single device or virtual storage array. There are a variety of ways to use the technology, including host-based virtualization and network-based storage (which integrates storage devices from an FC or iSCSI storage system into a single pool addressed by a central management console). Host-based virtualization is often used http://www.virtualdataspace.biz/what-is-a-bolt-on-acquisition/ in HCI Systems and Cloud Storage.
Virtual storage should be compatible with the hardware infrastructure, but also with the servers, hypervisors, and networking components. It must also support encryption of data, granular access and security controls, as well as robust backup and disaster recovery capabilities.
Virtual storage must also be able address concerns about performance and latency. This means that crucial applications run without impairing performance or adding to the delay of data retrieval. This involves evaluating the storage controller’s capabilities, network bandwidth, and capacity of disk I/O as well as implementing caching mechanisms. It also means using advanced storage features such as tiering and replicating at the virtualization level.