As a VMware founder has been quoted, “virtualization didn’t break the applications, but it certainly broke the infrastructure.” If the hypervisor (a hardware independent software layer) breaks storage, then maybe it should be fixed with software that’s also hardware independent. Just a thought.
Built for virtual servers, not repurposed
If you don’t look too closely, virtual servers are just like physical servers. We couldn’t help ourselves, so we got out a microscope. Guess what? There are assumptions made by designers of storage solutions for physical servers that turn out to be inappropriate for virtual servers.
You can tweak a storage architecture that wasn’t designed for virtual servers, and you can make it better. You could also motorize a buckboard wagon and call it an automobile. Not a horrible solution. However, after trying that a few times, smart engineers figured they could do better if they designed, from the ground up, a car.
A fresh approach
For the past two years, we’ve analyzed what’s good and bad about existing ways of doing VM storage. We’ve questioned long held assumptions of the storage industry. We brought together a team of world-class experts to look at the problem with fresh eyes. We don't have all the answers, but we do have some fresh ideas.
Whether you're an experienced virtualization shop, or are just dipping your toe in the water, better storage solutions will be important to you.
