The advent of software-defined storage and hyperconvergence technologies makes virtual data storage an attractive option for businesses looking to reduce their IT costs. In actual fact, since these solutions don’t require the hardware redundancies typically needed in traditional enterprise storage architectures for disaster recovery, they are able to reduce upfront costs and ongoing operating costs by an impressive amount.
Virtual data storage allows IT departments to pool physical storage devices, like SANs that appear to be an individual device or storage array. There are a variety of http://www.virtualdataspace.biz/what-is-a-bolt-on-acquisition/ ways to use the technology that includes host-based virtualization as well as network-based storage (which combines storage devices from an FC or iSCSI storage system into a single pool, which is controlled by a central management console). Host-based Virtualization is commonly used in HCI systems as well as cloud storage.
In order to work, virtual storage must be compatible with underlying hardware infrastructure such as networking components and servers, as well as with the common management tools and hypervisors. It should also support data encryption, granular access and authentication controls, as well as robust backup and disaster recovery capabilities.
Virtual storage should also be able to address concerns regarding latency and performance. This means that crucial applications run without hindering performance or increasing the delay of data retrieval. This involves evaluating the performance of storage controllers, network bandwidth, and disk I/O capacities and the deployment of cache mechanisms. It also means implementing advanced storage functions such as tiering and replicating at the virtualization level.