Storage virtualization is the abstraction of physical storage resources into multiple
virtual storage pools. It enables the creation of multiple logical storage devices from
the underlying physical storage, making it easier to manage and allocate storage
resources.
Advantages of storage virtualization include:
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Improved storage utilization and efficiency
Increased flexibility and scalability
Reduced complexity and cost
Improved data protection and disaster recovery
The following are the main characteristics of storage virtualization:
1. Abstraction: Storage virtualization provides an abstraction layer that separates
the physical storage resources from the logical storage view, making it easier
to manage and allocate storage resources.
2. Pooling: Storage virtualization enables the pooling of physical storage
resources into virtual storage pools, improving storage utilization and
reducing waste.
3. Flexibility: Storage virtualization allows for the creation of virtual storage
devices that can be easily reconfigured and reallocated as needed, increasing
flexibility and scalability.
4. Centralized management: Storage virtualization enables centralized
management and provisioning of storage resources, reducing complexity and
improving efficiency.
5. Improved data protection: Storage virtualization provides data protection
features such as snapshots, replication, and backup and recovery, improving
data protection and disaster recovery.
6. Interoperability: Storage virtualization provides interoperability between
different storage systems, making it easier to integrate new storage systems
into existing infrastructures.
7. Cost savings: Storage virtualization can reduce costs by reducing the number
of physical storage devices needed, improving storage utilization, and
reducing complexity.
There are several types of storage virtualization, including:
1. Storage Area Network (SAN) virtualization: SAN virtualization creates
virtualized storage resources within a SAN environment, providing
block-level access to storage and improving storage utilization.
2. Hypervisor-level virtualization: Hypervisor-level virtualization uses a
hypervisor to create virtual storage devices that can be managed and
accessed as physical disk drives.
Block virtualization, the main types of storage virtualization:
1. Block virtualization: Block virtualization provides block-level access to storage,
allowing applications to read and write data in fixed-sized blocks. Block
virtualization is typically used in Storage Area Network (SAN) environments
and is well suited for transactional workloads that require fast, low-latency
access to data.
Host based storage virtualization Array based storage virtualization Network based storage
virtualization
The following are the three main types of storage virtualization:
1. In-band storage virtualization: In-band storage virtualization involves the
virtualization software being integrated into the data path between the host
and storage devices. This configuration allows the virtualization software to
intercept and redirect storage requests, making it easier to manage and
allocate storage resources.
2. Out-of-band storage virtualization: Out-of-band storage virtualization involves
the virtualization software running on a separate server or appliance that is
connected to the storage devices. This configuration provides more flexibility
and scalability, but can also add latency to storage requests.