5.3Storage Virtualization
5.3Storage Virtualization
As we know that, there has been a strong link between the physical host and
the locally installed storage devices. However, that paradigm has been
changing drastically, almost local storage is no longer needed. As the
technology progressing, more advanced storage devices are coming to the
market that provide more functionality, and obsolete the local storage.
File servers: The operating system writes the data to a remote location with
no need to understand how to write to the physical media.
SAN and NAS: Storage is presented over the Ethernet network of the
operating system. NAS presents the storage as file operations (like NFS). SAN
technologies present the storage as block level storage (like Fibre Channel).
SAN technologies receive the operating instructions only when if the storage
was a locally attached device.
Benefits of Virtualization
1. Resource Utilization: Virtualization allows for better utilization of physical
hardware resources by running multiple virtual instances on a single physical
server.
2. Isolation: Virtualization provides isolation between virtual instances, ensuring
that failures or security breaches in one instance do not affect others.
3. Flexibility and Scalability: Virtualization enables rapid provisioning and scaling
of resources, allowing organizations to adapt to changing workloads and
demands.
4. Cost Savings: By consolidating multiple virtual instances onto fewer physical
servers, organizations can reduce hardware and operational costs.
5. Disaster Recovery: Virtualization facilitates easy backup, migration, and
recovery of virtual instances, improving disaster recovery capabilities.
Drawbacks of Virtualization
1. Overhead: Virtualization introduces overhead in terms of performance, as
resources must be allocated for managing and running virtual instances.
2. Complexity: Managing virtualized environments can be complex, requiring
specialized knowledge and tools for provisioning, monitoring, and
troubleshooting.
3. Vendor Lock-In: Organizations may become dependent on specific
virtualization technologies or providers, limiting flexibility and portability.
4. Security Concerns: Virtualized environments may introduce new security risks,
such as vulnerabilities in hypervisors or misconfigurations in virtual networks.
5. Licensing Issues: Virtualization may pose challenges related to software
licensing, as licensing models may not always align with virtualized
environments.
Characteristics of Virtualization
1. Abstraction: Virtualization abstracts physical hardware resources, presenting
them as virtual entities to users or applications.
2. Isolation: Virtualization provides isolation between virtual instances, ensuring
that each instance operates independently of others.
3. Encapsulation: Virtualization encapsulates entire environments, including
operating systems, applications, and data, into self-contained units.
4. Flexibility: Virtualization enables dynamic provisioning, scaling, and migration
of virtual instances, allowing for agile and responsive IT environments.
5. Efficiency: Virtualization improves resource utilization and efficiency by
allowing multiple virtual instances to share physical hardware resources.