I really have not seen
storage virtualization driving
storage area network (SAN) deployment. For
example, if you look at IBM's SVC software, IBM estimates 2,100
plus installs (and growing), and those installs do involve a SAN
of some type. What's not clear is whether a SAN was installed to
support the SVC installs, or SVC was just added to address a
particular issue. SANs are about connectivity -- not
intelligence. Most SAN adoptions have been to simplify
connectivity and improve storage sharing, so storage
virtualization has been more of a complementary technology
rather than a driving technology.
[For more relevant product
details, see the
All-In-One Buying Guide to Storage
Virtualization.]@30655 If you can bring virtualization technology in to address
particular pain points and solve problems for you without causing a
management burden, you may have yourself a winner. Moving forward,
SAN connectivity will increasingly benefit from the intelligence
added by virtualization and other building blocks like virtual
switches, etc. that we keep piecing together to meet that end
objective.
Listen to the
SAN FAQ audiocast here.
Go back to the beginning of the
Storage Area Network FAQ Guide.