Technical Background of storage virtualization

[MacKenze]

Consolidated storage systems, improve storage utilization, and contribute to cost reduction. The administration proved more difficult than with traditional solutions, virtualization can simplify management. In modern data centers, a large number of works on servers with large storage arrays. The connection between these components is generally implemented over Fibre Channel Fabrics. Individual arrays help hundreds - often thousands - Server and applications. These architectures have evolved over time through extensive memory consolidation and, through good storage utilization factor for significant cost savings. Their management for IT managers, however, affected significantly more difficult and costly than before, since all changes in the physical memory of hundreds of applications directly. To solve this problem, virtualization techniques come into play. These help the administrators in getting to the complexity of their infrastructures under control and reduce administrative expense. Virtualization also simplifies data movement and enables not only simple modifications to the infrastructure will also differentiated storage strategies, Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) and the implementation of business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.

[MacKenze]

The storage virtualization provides a logical picture of the physical memory dar. It comes between servers and storage components an abstraction layer used. The servers communicate during operation, this abstraction layer and not with the storage devices themselves, the underlying physical memory can thus be modified at any time if necessary without the applications that access the memory may be impaired. Those responsible have thus always an opportunity to replace the array or to implement tiered storage and ILM strategies, without being responsible for dealing with the applications need. Another advantage of storage virtualization is that all data is - can always move from a memory component to another - depending on the requirements of the applications or the business value of information. The physical storage units may consist either of several different arrays, and heterogeneous storage units from different manufacturers.

[MacKenze]

Once we have implemented a storage virtualization at the enterprise level, it allows for transparent data movement, which in itself is the basis for all ILM strategies. Those responsible have thanks to this technology is not only the possibility of improving the utilization of their storage infrastructure further, but can also store all the information accessible to the most cost-effective storage components, without having to make compromises in data protection and regulatory compliance need. In practice, therefore older and non-critical data is being transferred to and from storage to less expensive units. Virtualized environments also make it possible to simplify all management tasks on standard tools and policies. These are highly scalable and highly reliable storage components - preferably in the form of a SAN - is required.

[MacKenze]

The scalability of the most important challenge in building a functioning infrastructure virtualization at the enterprise level. Many companies have already successfully experimented with virtualization technologies, and then after the implementation of their solution should be noted that these can not be scaled according to the requirements. That so many disadvantages to that the benefit of the whole project is in question. In this context, such as inadequate I / O performance and high management overhead can be mentioned. In extreme cases it can even happen to find that on the net as many virtualization components such as memory arrays used or that the companies have to replace their entire switching fabric. In order to understand the problems associated with the scalability, IT managers must make clear that a powerful virtualization system to the outside must always present itself as the whole company in the available memory. Memory areas that are not part of this system are consequently avoid. The storage product should include not only the way the entire memory, but must simultaneously manage the abstraction and the accesses to the underlying physical storage components transparent. This approach reduces noise caused by the storage management overhead and thus does not affect application performance.

The increase with the implementation of this approach, difficulties connected with the increase in memory size of the company. Virtually all currently available solutions offer the scalability that is not, it would take a fair business performance. Therefore, organizations are forced to buy a large number of different virtualization components (in the form of blades, switches or appliances) and then to manage. Generally, a distinction in the selection of virtualization solution between closed architectures and virtualization on the fabric base.