Track 1: Storage Management
Virtualized storage perspectives
Storage virtualization addresses the increasing complexity
of managing storage and can help organizations reduce associated costs
Most enterprises want to control and manage their storage
arrays in a seamless mannerirrespective of the storage vendor from whom
a particular array may have been purchased. The first conference track examines
the complexities involved in managing large storage networks and how to automate
and simplify tasks such as performance monitoring, allocation, utilization,
and backup, while leveraging their existing investments.
Storage capacity is growing at a rate greater than 50 percent
per year. But the ability to manage that storage is clearly lagging. Although
price per gigabyte in storage hardware has plummeted, those savings are easily
offset by the added management burden that results from having to cobble together
storage systems and devices utilizing proprietary methods. The lack of centralized
management across server, storage and operating system platforms adds to the
complexity, resulting in poor IT resource utilization. Problem identification
and resolution is often slow, painful, and costly.
Need for Storage Virtualization
Storage virtualization addresses the increasing complexity
of managing storage and will reduce associated costs. Its main purpose is to
exploit a SAN to the fullest extent. Virtualization can ensure higher availability,
provide disaster tolerance and improve performance. It allows for resource consolidation,
policy-based automation and automated back-ups.
Virtualisation lets you view and manage multiple, networked
heterogeneous storage devices as if they were a single pool of storage managed
from a central console.
Look Ma! No islands
Virtualized storage is not restricted by the capacity, speed
or reliability limitations of the physical devices that it is comprised of.
This gives enterprises the ability to choose storage hardware independent of
the functionality they need from it, and to change and upgrade hardware without
disrupting existing data.
Additionally, with storage virtualization, platform-independent,
software-based solutions eliminate the cost and price premiums of exclusive
solutions. It brings the entire storage infrastructure to the highest level
at the lowest cost because the solutions work on a variety of platforms, with
a wide range of storage hardware. Users can pick hardware vendors as needed
and cross-train staff to use a single set of tools across the IT environment.
The cost savings over time are significant, and solutions are consistent from
platform to platform. Virtualization allows companies to choose multivendor
storage, and then carves up these physical devices into logical volumes to provide
required resources.
In terms of growth, enterprises, especially in the BFSI,
telecom and oil & gas segmentsthe early adopters of networked storageare
slowly realising the importance of storage virtualization. Most enterprises
deploying SANs will need a storage virtualization solution in the future.
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