Is Virtualization The Perfect Storage Solution?

With the enthusiasm for virtualization seemingly growing with each passing year, it’s probably crossed your mind to investigate it if you haven’t already. Knowing the benefits of virtualizing servers to increase computing power without having to invest in new hardware, then perhaps the benefits of virtualizing storage have been considered.

When you consider that a remarkable 90% of the world’s data has been created in the past two years according to research organization IDC, then demands on storage are rising steeply and don’t look likely to tail off. Buying more and more hardware would appear to be an unsustainable option to keep up with the demand.

Virtualizing storage

As with servers, virtualizing storage is a means of utilizing existing hardware resources to provide storage in the face of changing – usually increasing – demands. This is achieved by using a virtual SAN (Storage Area Network) in conjunction with a hypervisor such as the industry leading vSphere by VMware or Microsoft’s Hyper-V.

Ideally you need a virtualization solution that is compatible with either of the two hypervisors and can work with commodity X86 servers – this virtual SAN from StorMagic is a good example.

Once armed with the above software setup, you are then in a position to pool your storage resources to meet current and likely future needs without having to upgrade or replace your hardware.

A setup such as the above will also enable you to provide IT support to ROBOs (Remote Office Branch Office) from one location which conserves resources and personnel.

Saving power and resources is also a valid consideration. Hardware inevitably uses power, so more hardware to cope with increased storage demands would mean higher power consumption and thus more expense in running and cooling your hardware and an increase in your organization’s carbon footprint.

Other options

Solid State Drives (SSD)

SSDs are fast but costly although costs are coming down as users are finding with ‘flash’ drives on computers such as laptops where they’re becoming a less expensive option to the traditional hard disc drive (HDD).

Like virtualization, there is a lot of excitement about SSD, but there is no real proof they will match HDDs in price in the near future – especially bearing in mind the high capacity storage requirements of many IT departments.

The cloud

Perhaps only really a back up option as opposed to a main storage choice mainly because many IT managers would not feel comfortable having their data stored on third party servers. There is also the issue of speed – cloud storage would not be as immediate as virtual storage or SSD.

Is virtual storage for everyone?

In the face of increasing storage demands, it would appear to offer the most cost-effective and flexible solution, and companies involved in providing virtual solutions are likely to enjoy high demand in the future and may represent good investment opportunities.

It’s important to take into account the learning curve and the ‘cultural shift’ in working in a virtualized environment compared to an all-physical one.