The emergence of hyperconvergence and software-defined storage technologies makes virtual data storage an attractive solution http://www.virtualdataspace.biz/box-vdr-main-features/ for companies seeking to cut costs in IT. These solutions can save a significant amount of money as they don’t require the redundant hardware required in traditional storage architectures for enterprises to ensure disaster recovery.

Virtual data storage permits IT to pool physical data storage devices such as SANs into one device or virtual storage array. There are a variety of ways to implement this technology such as network-based storage virtualization (which integrates all the storage devices of an FC or iSCSI the SAN into one pool that is managed via a central management console) and host-based virtualization. Host-based virtualization can be used in HCI systems and cloud storage.

Virtual storage needs to be compatible with not just the underlying hardware infrastructure but also with hypervisors, servers, and networking components. It should also be able to provide encryption of data as well as granular authentication and access controls, as well as robust backup and disaster recovery capabilities.

Furthermore, virtual storage should be able to address issues with latency and performance. This means that critical applications can run without compromising performance or causing delay to data retrieval. This requires evaluating storage controller capabilities, network bandwidth, and disk I/O capacity as well as deploying caching mechanisms. It also requires installing advanced storage functions such as tiering and replication at the virtualization level.