One of the most widely used approaches is to use the intelligent storage controller as the virtualisation engine. Instead of deploying extra hardware layers in the form of management servers, application blades, new switches and separate management software, organisations can take advantage of virtualisation capabilities that already exist in the storage controller.

By installing an intelligent storage controller in front of their infrastructure, companies can not only aggregate existing storage systems but can also virtualise the services provided to host applications such as data protection, replication, authorisation and monitoring.

This approach offers numerous advantages such as simplified management, increased utilisation of storage resources, seamless migration across tiers of storage, lowered interoperability barriers and better integration of common functionality.

Business benefits
Storage virtualisation simplifies today’s diverse and complex network storage systems and offers a wide range of benefits. Organisations can simplify the management of their infrastructure, consolidating many physical storage systems from different vendors into one pool of storage, masking the complexity of the underlying physical structure and greatly increasing utilisation.

Storage virtualisation also brings about significant cost reductions and efficiencies, by reducing the need for additional software applications and licences, by reducing the need for additional hardware investment (which in turn means lower power, cooling and space costs) and also by reducing labour costs and resources required to manage spiraling data volumes. Typically, administrators can manage from three to 10 times more storage capacity once virtualisation is implemented.

Storage virtualisation also allows organisations to consolidate and utilise existing storage assets, extending their shelf life so they continue to deliver value. Storage virtualisation also allows organisations to consolidate their management and storage services, using a single standard interface to manage storage, archive and backup functions.

Organisations can also achieve far greater business agility, aligning their storage infrastructure more closely to application requirements and reacting quickly to changing service-level requirements. Storage virtualisation also allows for seamless migration of data between systems, meaning that organisations do not have to take systems down when performing upgrades or replicating data across heterogeneous systems.

Finally, the environmental impact of technology and the looming power crisis has made energy efficiency a huge priority for many organisations. Storage virtualisation and associated technologies such as thin provisioning allow organisations to consolidate systems and increase utilisation, significantly cutting the power required to both operate and cool their data centres. This has the dual advantage of improving technology’s impact on the environment and reducing energy costs.

The author is Director, Product and Solutions, APAC, Hitachi Data Systems.