File
archiving is about moving inactive data. By
comparison,
virtualization is about abstraction, for
example, insulating applications from storage. With the recent
buzz about file virtualization, some vendors try to describe
file archiving as a form of file virtualization. Others argue
that file virtualization is about global namespaces and global
file systems, clusters, heterogeneous file replication, etc.
Keep in mind that virtualization is typically associated with
virtualizing the file system and allowing you to perform different
operations. So, migrating inactive data through file virtualization
(even part of an automated tiered storage environment) could
potentially overlap the definition of file archiving, though file
virtualization offers many more potential capabilities.
Go back to the beginning of the
File Archiving FAQ Guide.