Virtualization has become a must-have storage option. It has proven to be a powerful tool in solving a number of problems involved in managing critical business information. But the complexity that virtualization techniques mask must, at some level, be managed.
As one would expect, there are some implementations that are easier to manage and safeguard than others. When looking to purchase hardware and/or software that boast virtualization, there are some guidelines that should be considered.
Most virtualization capabilities, such as virtual volumes, which allow a disk 'volume' to span several physical disk drives to achieve greater disk utilization, create some form of map between what the host 'sees' and what is really being used. This map is vital to allow the host system to understand how to access its data. When selecting storage infrastructure components that utilize virtualization, a primary concern should be how to protect and assure the availability of this map.
The techniques for protecting the map are the same as for protecting any data. The value of the application using the map will determine the extent to which you protect the map data. Techniques such as backing up the map, clustering the virtual components for fail-over as well as remote capabilities can often be used to provide 24xforever availability of the maps. However, you may be surprised to find the solution you are considering may not support any of these protection techniques.
By their nature, virtualization techniques affect the data path, whether virtualization is located in the data path or not. When upgrading to the latest version of the software or firmware, you may have to take your data path down to load the new code. Depending on the data availability requirements of the applications there are products that provide the capability to load new code without having to take down the data path.
The same issue arises when upgrading the hardware associated with the virtualization capabilities. Upgrading hardware has always been an issue in infrastructure management. While it is more difficult to provide non-disruptive hardware upgrades, it is possible to minimize disruption through thoughtful implementation of the virtualization techniques.
Virtualization techniques provide extremely powerful tools for simplifying and optimizing the management of complex storage environments. These tools are greatly needed to manage the chaotic growth of digital information. As with any new capability, the implementations available today vary greatly to provide a right-sized solution for these problems.
Some of the vendor companies using virtual techniques within their storage solutions include:
DataCore: www.datacore.com
FalconStore: www.falconstore.com
IBM: www.ibm.com
StoreAge: www.storeage.com
StorageTek: www.storagetek.com
Tricord: www.tricord.com
Veritas: www.veritas.com
XIOtech: www.xiotech.com
RELATED LINKS
Anne Skamarock is senior analyst with Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo., an analyst and market research firm focusing exclusively on enterprise management. She can be reached via e-mail.
Storage archive
Past newsletters.
