Blog_Banner_Asset
    Homebreadcumb forward arrow iconBlogbreadcumb forward arrow iconArtificial Intelligencebreadcumb forward arrow iconStorage Virtualization: Benefits, Challenges & Future Prospects

Storage Virtualization: Benefits, Challenges & Future Prospects

Last updated:
23rd Dec, 2020
Views
Read Time
7 Mins
share image icon
In this article
Chevron in toc
View All
Storage Virtualization: Benefits, Challenges & Future Prospects

Data is stored in bits and pieces worldwide, and organizations face a great challenge in managing structured and unstructured data. This is where storage virtualization comes into the picture. Industry analyst Gartner has predicted that 60% of companies will implement data virtualization by 2022.

Best Machine Learning and AI Courses Online

Storage virtualization is software-defined storage, where data is pooled from multiple physical storage devices but makes them appear as a single storage device. The best part of storage virtualization is integrating storage hardware from various networks, vendors, and data centers and consolidating or managing them systematically into one storage device. Overall, storage, virtualization improves performance, scalability, profits, and economics in an organization.

Get Machine Learning Certification from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

Ads of upGrad blog

 Storage virtualization separates software from the hardware infrastructure to provide flexibility and scalability of storage resources. More and more companies are adopting this technology because storage virtualization helps them consolidate and manage their scattered data under a single console.

In-demand Machine Learning Skills

 At the data level, there are two types of storage virtualization: Block-based and File-based.

Block-based: Block-based storage virtualization is the most common type of storage virtualization being practiced across organizations. It identifies all available blocks on individual media/path irrespective of location or vendor, and then the engine leaves that data in the physical position and maps the address to a virtual storage device.

File-based: File-level virtualization works over NAS devices. It has a challenge of its own because managing different NAS devices can be tedious work. Managing multiple appliances is time-consuming and costly. NAS devices require individual management, and users need to know the physical pathname to access a file. Migration of data from old to new NAS devices also remains a challenge as it results in downtime, leading to additional cost to the company.

Also Read: Cloud Computing Ultimate Guide

Benefits of Storage Virtualization

Better storage utilization: If you have unorganized data, storage virtualization is the answer to your problems. It offers better space utilization of your data and resources.

Easy manageability: With data exploding at lightning speed day by day, storage virtualization acts as a boon to any organization in locating data, compiling it, and managing it. 

Improves data backup: SANS allows you to take a snapshot of storage resources. Hence, you can schedule snapshots and take backup or recovery of any data at any point in time.

Data duplication and recovery: If you have a proper storage solution, you can easily replicate data from one device to another at any location. Today, many organizations are even putting their backup device at the Data Recovery location.

Cost-cutting: When you have a centralized dashboard to manage multiple vendors, it saves a lot of time and money. Also, it leads to the proper utilization of resources, and management becomes easier. 

Read: Top Cloud Computing Models Explained

Challenges of storage virtualization

Storage virtualization is not a new technology. It has been in the market for years to solve enterprise storage challenges. As the data is growing exponentially day by day, the need for storage virtualization has become more prominent today. But there are some challenges associated with it. 

Storage virtualization can bring the following challenges:

Agility and scalability: Storage virtualization cannot always be a smooth implementation. It comes with few technical hurdles, such as scalability. Companies have different hardware and software components supplied by different vendors. In such a scenario, managing software and hardware might get cumbersome.

The storage system deployed in such cases may also need rapid upgrades due to the demanding nature of applications and exploding data. Moreover, issues such as lack of agility, scalability, greater data analysis, and faster data access are some other challenges that companies need to keep in mind before choosing the right storage solution. 

Data security: Data security also remains a concern. Though some may argue that virtual machines and servers are more secure than physical ones, virtual environments can attract new kinds of cyber-attacks. Also, data security and governance are becoming a challenge associated with storage virtualization.

Manageability and integration: Virtualisation breaks the end-to-end view of your data. The virtualized storage solution must be capable of integrating with existing tools and systems.

It should be able to work or communicate with the existing infrastructure.

Must Read: Scope of Cloud Computing

Future Prospects

Key cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud have revolutionized the storage market by offering highly-scalable solutions. They have changed the way companies store and process information. With enterprise applications such as CRM, AI, IoT, collaboration tools, and cloud technologies, the requirement to store data has become important.  

 According to a report by ‘Spiceworks 2020 State of Virtualisation Technology’, 40% of companies already use storage virtualization, and an additional 12% plan to do so by 2022. The same study also says that one-quarter of businesses plan to deploy storage virtualization technologies instead of buying physical storage arrays in the future.

Typical virtualization in Cloud looks like the image below

More and more companies are storing their data in the cloud. When it comes to cloud storage, companies are a little skeptical due to security challenges. Azure is the most commonly used service, followed by Amazon AWS Storage, then Google Cloud Storage.

As per Spiceworks report, it is also observed that between hard disk only, hybrid, and all-flash storage appliances, 81% of businesses use some form of storage array (e.g., SAN, NAS) today.

SSDs are gaining popularity in the corporate world, and competition is fierce in the SSD market. Adopting all-flash storage arrays is growing rapidly and will continue to gain momentum in the next few years. Spiceworks report also found that most businesses might increase their storage requirements within the next two years by 57% and 60% for local shared storage and cloud storage, respectively. 

Learn data science courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Executive PG Programs, Advanced Certificate Programs, or Masters Programs to fast-track your career.

Ads of upGrad blog

Popular AI and ML Blogs & Free Courses

Conclusion

The right storage solution offers value for money, security, excellent vendor support, cost-cutting, and high performance. Also, selection should depend on what storage technology you are using, whether it is SSD, Hard disk, Cloud, or storage arrays. Sheer volume of data also remains no.1  concern today. Storage virtualization helps manage vast amounts of data that need to be moved or curated on a timely basis.

If you are intrigued to find out about cloud computing and Machine Learning, you can check out their PG Diploma in Software Development Specialization in Cloud Computing.

Profile

Sriram

Blog Author
Meet Sriram, an SEO executive and blog content marketing whiz. He has a knack for crafting compelling content that not only engages readers but also boosts website traffic and conversions. When he's not busy optimizing websites or brainstorming blog ideas, you can find him lost in fictional books that transport him to magical worlds full of dragons, wizards, and aliens.
Get Free Consultation

Select Coursecaret down icon
Selectcaret down icon
By clicking 'Submit' you Agree to  
UpGrad's Terms & Conditions

Our Popular Machine Learning Course

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1What is meant by Kernel Level Virtualization?

Kernel-level virtualization is a specialized kind of server virtualization in many aspects. Kernel-level virtualization uses a distinct Linux kernel and treats the virtual machine as a user-space process on the real host. This makes running numerous virtual machines on a single host a breeze. A device driver is utilized for communication between the core Linux kernel and the virtual machine.

2How is file-level storage different from block-level storage?

Essentially, file level storage is applied for bulk file storage. When compared to block level storage, the cost of reserving space in file level storage is substantially lower. Using file level storage, sharing files with multiple users is quite an easy task. While file sharing at block level storage is a little more involved process that requires the installation of an operating system to which the block should be attached, only then can files be shared with that host operating system. However, because the server employs raw storage blocks like hard discs, block-level storage is unrivalled in terms of versatility and flexibility.

3Why is block-level storage virtualization important?

The demand for block-level storage virtualization developed as SAN users discovered that many critical storage management functions were limited to the discs in a single array and couldn't be scaled beyond that. Raw storage volumes are formed in a block-level storage device, and the server-based operating system connects to these volumes and uses them as separate hard drives. This allows block-level storage to be used for different applications, including file storage, database storage, virtual machine file system volumes, etc. Since any type of file system may be stored on block level storage, it is incredibly useful.

Explore Free Courses

Suggested Blogs

Artificial Intelligence course fees
5204
Artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the most used words in 2023, which emphasizes how important and widespread this technology has become. If you
Read More

by venkatesh Rajanala

29 Feb 2024

Artificial Intelligence in Banking 2024: Examples & Challenges
5699
Introduction Millennials and their changing preferences have led to a wide-scale disruption of daily processes in many industries and a simultaneous g
Read More

by Pavan Vadapalli

27 Feb 2024

Top 9 Python Libraries for Machine Learning in 2024
75249
Machine learning is the most algorithm-intense field in computer science. Gone are those days when people had to code all algorithms for machine learn
Read More

by upGrad

19 Feb 2024

Top 15 IoT Interview Questions & Answers 2024 – For Beginners & Experienced
64235
These days, the minute you indulge in any technology-oriented discussion, interview questions on cloud computing come up in some form or the other. Th
Read More

by Kechit Goyal

19 Feb 2024

Data Preprocessing in Machine Learning: 7 Easy Steps To Follow
151381
Summary: In this article, you will learn about data preprocessing in Machine Learning: 7 easy steps to follow. Acquire the dataset Import all the cr
Read More

by Kechit Goyal

18 Feb 2024

Artificial Intelligence Salary in India [For Beginners & Experienced] in 2024
907986
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one of the hottest buzzwords in the tech sphere for quite some time now. As Data Science is advancing, both AI a
Read More

by upGrad

18 Feb 2024

24 Exciting IoT Project Ideas & Topics For Beginners 2024 [Latest]
755157
Summary: In this article, you will learn the 24 Exciting IoT Project Ideas & Topics. Take a glimpse at the project ideas listed below. Smart Agr
Read More

by Kechit Goyal

18 Feb 2024

Natural Language Processing (NLP) Projects & Topics For Beginners [2023]
106845
What are Natural Language Processing Projects? NLP project ideas advanced encompass various applications and research areas that leverage computation
Read More

by Pavan Vadapalli

17 Feb 2024

45+ Interesting Machine Learning Project Ideas For Beginners [2024]
326821
Summary: In this Article, you will learn Stock Prices Predictor Sports Predictor Develop A Sentiment Analyzer Enhance Healthcare Prepare ML Algorith
Read More

by Jaideep Khare

16 Feb 2024

Schedule 1:1 free counsellingTalk to Career Expert
icon
footer sticky close icon