The rise of software-defined storage and hyperconvergence technologies makes virtual data storage an attractive solution for companies seeking to cut down on IT costs. In reality, since these solutions don’t require redundant hardware that is typically required in traditional storage architectures for disaster recovery, they are able to cut down on upfront costs as well as ongoing operating costs by substantial amounts.
Virtual data storage allows IT to pool physical storage devices such as SANs virtual data room into a single device, or virtual storage array. There are a variety of ways to utilize 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, which is controlled by a central management console). Host-based virtualization is often used in HCI Systems and Cloud Storage.
In order to work the way it should, virtual storage must be compatible with the hardware infrastructure such as networking components and servers, as well as with the most common management tools and hypervisors. It should also be able to support data encryption, granular access and security controls, and robust backup and disaster recovery capabilities.
Virtual storage must also be able address concerns about performance and latency. This means that critical applications can run without compromising the performance or causing latency to data retrieval. This involves evaluating storage controllers, network bandwidth and capacities of disk I/O and deploying cache mechanisms. It also requires installing advanced storage features, like replication, tiering and virtualization at the virtualization layer.