Back-end NAS virtualization promises better utilization of resources, tiered storage, improved management of NAS assets, higher availability, and greater flexibility in introducing change. Good implementations of front-end file virtualization offer users an easy migration path to consolidation and the ability to define virtual volumes and servers as their own. Together with thin provisioning NAS virtualization also offers users the ability to pay for what they use, not what has been allocated to them. NAS makes an ideal testing ground for virtualization concepts, as well as allowing IT to provide lower costs to the user and lower risk to the business as a whole.
Action Item: Use front-end and back-end NAS virtualization as a way to introduce the technology and help consolidate NAS.
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