What Is Storage Virtualization?

What Is Storage Virtualization?

by

Stephanie Rose

Storage virtualization is a hot topic, but a potentially confusing one. What is it? Who is it for? And, what are its advantages?

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) defines storage virtualization in two parts. The first part of the definition is:

The act of abstracting, hiding, or isolating the internal functions of a storage (sub)system or service from applications, host computers, or general network resources, for the purpose of enabling application and network-independent management or storage of data.

The second part is:

The application of virtualization to storage services or devices for the purpose of aggregating functions or devices, hiding complexity, or adding new capabilities to lower level storage resources.

In other words, storage virtualization seeks to simplify complex storage operations. It provides a simple interface that allows users to interact with stored data without having to be aware of the underlying systems. For instance, television viewers do not need to understand how their devices receive television signals, unscramble signals, and display programs on the screen in order to watch them. The television\’s remote or menu system \”virtualizes\” that process.

Think of storage virtualization as a system of layers:

Layer I The first layer contains storage devices such as hard disk drives.

Layer II The second layer, known as the block aggregation layer, aggregates and groups layer I devices which can then be displayed in Layer III as single devices. For example, instead of having ten separate hard disks for the accounting department, those hard disks can be aggregated into a single device designated for the accounting department.

Layer III The third layer is known as the file/record layer which serves as an abstraction layer between file servers and clients that access the files. It eliminates the dependencies between file data and physical locations, allowing for storage optimization and server consolidation.

Layer IV The fourth layer is the application layer which is used for various protocols.

With traditional storage arrangements, each individual device is managed and deployed individually whereas with virtualized storage, storage devices are pooled together and managed as one. This reduces complexity while allowing for both automation and flexibility.

At its most basic, a virtual \”cloud\” can be created through storage virtualization. Layer 1 devices are transformed into virtual Layer II devices that are then accessed through an interface. Servers and users accessing the virtualized devices don\’t need to know the specifics involving the underlying physical devices. In addition, changes to actual physical devices can occur without disrupting operations. For example, if a hard disk fails and needs to be replaced, the storage administrator can swap it out without requiring downtime.

Storage virtualization has several key advantages:

It simplifies complex storage systems

It allows for greater availability and automation

It improves the utilization of storage

It minimizes downtime and allows for transparent \”on the fly\” changes

These are but a few of the many benefits of storage virtualization. It is an ideal solution for enterprise and mid-sized network environments grappling with complex storage systems.

Stephanie is the author of this article about what is storage virtualization. She wrote this article to inform her readers who had questions about storage virtualization. While writing this article she gathered resources from

Tegile

and

Search Storage

.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com