Chapter 8. Squeezing Real Value from Storage

The preceding chapter considered the state of virtualization technology and its potential role in simplifying data storage for ease of management, while at the same time advancing the cause of greater capacity allocation efficiency. We determined that, despite the momentum that is building behind switch- and appliance-based virtualization in Fibre Channel fabrics , the absence of standards for virtualization continued to limit the reliability of the business value claims of products. As a result, potential deployments of the technology would need to be tested and validated on a one-off basis for their actual ability to simplify storage architecture.

It was argued that capacity allocation efficiency cannot be achieved using current LUN aggregation-style virtualization techniques. While these tools could enable nondisruptive volume scaling (within limits fixed by proprietary array controller designs), the LUN aggregation strategy itself lacked the level of granularity ”and the necessary LUN carving and splicing capabilities ”to enable storage administrators to truly allocate storage capacity on an efficient basis.

From the perspective of capacity utilization efficiency, these virtualization tools offer virtually no value whatsoever. This chapter looks at the causes of storage utilization inefficiency and efforts to address it within the industry.