Storage Virtualization
If you are virtualizing your servers for better utilization, less cost and better management, why not get the same benefits by virtualizing your storage? After all, shared storage is probably one of the biggest pieces of the virtualization equation in both dollars and management.
Virtualizing storage provides the same benefits of server virtualization - less hardware, greater flexibility, less required management - and better storage performance to boot.
Vitualized storage allows for the use of all available disk resources all the time for maximum efficiency. It also allows you the flexibility to set up logical, virtual volumes and provision without limitations of the actual physical drives.
In addition, it allows for better performance as you can scale linearly across all drives. Any server can access the performance level of any available drive. Any volume can simultaneously utilize all disk drives in the shared pool of storage.
Virtualizing servers without virtualizing storage is like marching down the football field and punting on the goal line. Punch it in and take full advantage of virtualization when you leverage storage virtualization to drastically improve utilization of your space.
Go the whole nine yards and virtualize storage along with your servers.