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How to manage storage through virtualization?

Managing storage through virtualization involves creating a layer of abstraction between the physical storage devices and the logical storage units presented to applications and users. This allows for more efficient use of storage resources, easier management, and flexibility in allocation.

Explanation:
Virtualization enables multiple operating systems and applications to run on a single physical server, each with its own virtualized storage. This is achieved by using a hypervisor, which manages and allocates the underlying physical storage resources to the virtual machines (VMs) as needed.

Key Concepts:

  1. Storage Virtualization: This is the process of abstracting physical storage from logical storage, allowing for better utilization and management of storage resources.
  2. Virtual Disks: These are files that act as virtual hard drives for VMs, providing them with storage space.
  3. Storage Pools: A collection of physical storage devices aggregated into a single pool, from which storage can be dynamically allocated to VMs.

Example:
Imagine a company with several servers, each having its own hard drives. Without virtualization, managing storage would be cumbersome and inefficient. With storage virtualization, these hard drives can be pooled together and managed as a single entity. The hypervisor can then allocate storage from this pool to VMs as needed, without the need for manual intervention.

Recommendation for Cloud Environment:
In a cloud environment, services like Tencent Cloud's Cloud Block Storage (CBS) offer scalable and flexible block-level storage solutions. CBS allows you to create and manage virtual disks for your VMs, providing high performance and reliability. It integrates seamlessly with other Tencent Cloud services, enabling you to manage storage efficiently in a virtualized environment.

By leveraging storage virtualization and services like Tencent Cloud's CBS, organizations can achieve better storage utilization, simplify management, and enhance the overall efficiency of their IT infrastructure.