Storage virtualization has been around for several decades. While technologies have advanced and capabilities have become more sophisticated over time, the motivations for virtualizing resources and the anticipated benefits have remained relatively stable. Storage virtualization continues to be an important topic because it addresses a number of significant challenges.

This paper describes the business motivations for storage virtualization and the benefits it can deliver. Basic storage virtualization approaches are described and their benefits and limitations are compared. Finally, HP StorageWorks virtualization offerings strategy are described. The paper also briefly discusses the enterprise context for storage virtualization—a global implementation that can be delivered over time with the HP Adaptive Infrastructure.