Storage area networks (SANs) facilitate data virtualization by pooling physical storage resources and making them available to multiple hosts simultaneously. This enables storage to be shared across a network and accessed by any computer with the necessary permissions. Server virtualization has been a catalyst for utilizing SAN technologies as virtual servers rely on shared storage for their operations. SAN storage virtualization helps in streamlining storage operations as well as optimizing resource usage.

Storage virtualization abstracts the physical characteristics of storage pools through a software layer. This makes storage simultaneously available to many servers as virtualized logical units Storage Area Network (SAN) rather than discrete physical units. Administrators can provision storage at a logical level without concerning themselves with specific hardware details. Virtualization simplifies management tasks like provisioning, migration, replication, snapshotting etc. It also allows for non-disruptive changes like upgrading controllers or replacing drives.

Data Redundancy and High Availability

SANs enable implementing redundancy across storage subsystems to ensure data protection and high availability. Technologies like RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) create parity data that can helpreconstruct lost data from failed drives. Additional copies of critical data can be maintained through replication to remote sites. Failover mechanisms can switch over automatically to the replicated copy in case of primary site disaster.

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