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Storage virtualization groups storage devices to appear as one large device, improving information management and system availability. Requests are automatically routed to available space, and unused space is accumulated. Multiple manufacturers’ devices can be used, and data replication is handled easily. Maintaining fail-safe backups is crucial.
Computer data is stored on disks and solid-state media for availability for days, months, or years. In small systems, such as a personal computer, there is a CPU and one or two hard drives. When a disk fails or runs out of space, another disk must be added manually and data must be placed on that disk. Large systems can have hundreds of discs and digital storage systems, and the complexity of managing information increases dramatically. Storage virtualization is the grouping of storage devices in such a way that it looks perfectly like one large storage device.
In a simple system, whenever a program needs access to a file, it makes a request to the operating system. The operating system maps this to a specific location on a disk. If a disk has, for example, 10 gigabytes of capacity, the disk cannot handle data beyond that size. With storage virtualization, a space request greater than the size of the disk is automatically routed behind the scenes to another disk.
Storage virtualization can be managed by hardware or software, or a combination of the two. It has a number of advantages. Data can be moved from one device to another device behind the scenes while the system is making requests and the request is automatically routed to the new location. When a storage device needs to be added or removed, this can be done without shutting down the system. This increases system availability for end users.
With storage virtualization, information can be intelligently managed; for example, data that is accessed less frequently can be moved to a slower device. Storage usage could be improved. Each storage device by itself can have unused space, but that unused space may be too small to be used for a single file that the operating system wants to place. With storage virtualization, unused space on multiple devices is automatically “accumulated” because parts of the file can be stored on separate devices.
The physical group of storage devices is seen as a single device from the point of view of the operating system. As a result, the operating system doesn’t have to keep track of multiple devices and how to access them. As a result, storage devices from multiple manufacturers can be used without problems as long as they support storage virtualization. To protect against data loss, data is often replicated. Such replication is also handled without problems.
Storage virtualization then provides the system with the storage it needs without getting bogged down by the limitations of individual devices. Naturally, a significant amount of information has now been virtualized. It is very important that this information is maintained in a fail-safe manner, usually by archiving it in multiple locations.
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