Storage Consolidation and Virtualization
Hardware storage prices have decreased. However, storage administration and software expenses still run approximately seven times the cost of storage hardware. It is important to control these costs and lower the total cost of ownership.
Storage consolidation provides a partial solution by expanding device connectivity and
reducing points of management. However, once storage is consolidated, the job is only
half done. You still need a centralized, flexible method of management that masks the
complexity of the storage environment and reduces administrative overhead. That’s
where virtualization fits in.
Virtualization makes a complicated task easy to perform. Memory management has evolved from manually assigning a fixed amount of memory for each process to a virtual memory subsystem that dynamically allocates memory as needed. E-mail communication was once restricted to individuals who could understand arcane network routing schemes. Today, you simply type the destination address; switches and routers make sure the e-mail reaches the correct server.
As with memory management and e-mail, storage virtualization seeks to simplify cumbersome tasks–like allocating storage, load balancing, configuring RAID, and backing up and restoring data. Optimally, the physical disks and complex underpinnings of the storage are concealed from administrators and servers. Disk space is presented to the operating system as a “logical volume” that appears to be a normal disk or partition.
Administrators are no longer bound to the physical dimensions of a disk or forced through complex steps to perform basic storage management tasks. Not only does virtualization improve efficiency and productivity, it reduces the time, effort, and knowledge needed to manage storage.
A storage subsystem-based product that can span arrays represents the ideal virtualization
solution—providing a scalable “pool” of storage, in addition to technology that hides the underlying configuration, no matter how complex. Dell EqualLogic is delivering such a product with its PS Series array, which combines the best of storage consolidation and virtualization in an iSCSI-based SAN.
By leveraging existing network infrastructure and personnel skills, Dell EqualLogic provides a cost-effective, high-performing, scalable storage solution. Just what businesses need to decrease the cost—and the complexity—of managing storage.
Contact us for more information on storage consolidation and virtualization.