Section 14.9. Virtual Storage Is the Place to Live

14.9. Virtual Storage Is the Place to Live

For now, a SAN (virtual storage) is where you want your virtual infrastructure to live, if possible. It is a requirement for VMotion, and quality SANs provide stellar redundancy and availability. If you have one already, you're set; if not, try to get it in the budget (keep in mind, it'll be a major line item since the costs can be high). If you can budget for one but can't go whole hog, ensure you purchase one that in the future can be scaled without significant costs, like for an entire new enclosure. However, with some clever scripting, you can get some of the benefits of a SAN such as snaps and BCV-like restore possibilities even though you still don't have VMotion. VMware is owned by the SAN manufacturer EMC, so you can bet as SAN technology continually develops with more virtual capabilities, VMware and ESX Server will leverage those capabilities, allowing for greater amounts of flexibility in your virtual infrastructure.