Examples of Storage Virtualization Technologies

Storage virtualization in its simplest form involves grouping together multiple physical storage devices (no matter where they are physically located), so that they appear as one big storage unit.

There are many different storage virtualization technologies including, NAS (Network-attached Storage), SAN (Storage Area Network) and iSCSI (Internet SCSI).

NAS (Network-attached Storage)

A Network-attached storage device is effectively a server that is dedicated to providing file sharing services. It is not concerned with any other services such as e-mail or printer sharing; it only deals with file sharing.

SAN (Storage Area Network)

A storage area network is effectively a sub-network that consists of only storage devices. Storage devices can consist of either a server which contains nothing but hard drives for storage, or a stand-alone rack of storage devices such as a rack of multiple hard drives.

iSCSI

ISCSI stands for Internet Small Computer System Interface. SCSI is basically an interface that is used for connecting peripheral devices (including hard drives) to a computer. It acts as a controller, meaning that it doesn't require software to handle data requests, as it deals with this itself.

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For more information on Virtualization and to sign up for our Cloud Computing Certification courses, have a look at the Virtualization Certification Kit and the Storage Management Certification Kit