You must log in to post a comment. Email Address. Shop Download Support. InstantRecovery protects your system, data and installed applications from software corruption-related system failure: InstantRecovery Server allows up to 10 different snapshots and also provides a Freeze feature which can restore systems to the same point in time every time. In this article we explore what thin provisioning is, how it works and how important it is for an enterprise.
To expand our understanding of TP, we will also compare its working with traditional provisioning, which is also known as thick provisioning. Thin provisioning, also known as virtual provisioning or thin storage, is a method of on-demand storage allocation based on user requirements in storage area networks SAN , centralized storage disks, and storage virtualization systems. In thin storage, as the user consumes their allocated storage space, they are allocated more. Alternatively, when they free up space, by deleting files or transferring data, the idle space is reclaimed, repurposed and used for other workloads in need of storage.
In comparison to thin provisioning, thick provisioning also called fat provisioning pre-allocates storage space in anticipation of future capacity requirements. This practice of storage allocation leads to idle storage space, inefficient storage utilization, and unnecessary costs of infrastructure and maintenance. In other words, while both thin and thick provisioning are methods of storage allocation the difference lies in how the Logical Unit Number LUN is configured.
Thick provisioning creates LUNs and assigns them to specific hosts or applications. The LUN reserves a specific portion of the storage space specifically for the assigned host or application. As the process runs over time, the allocated storage space consumes all of the available storage space.
The Windows thin provisioning feature presents a robust storage provisioning service model that can be applied to client-server storage systems, virtualization storage, and cloud storage services. Microsoft will ensure the high quality of the thin provisioning feature by enforcing the Windows Thin Provisioning Hardware Certification Kit requirements for storage array products.
Without the proper understanding of the Windows handles for thin provisioning LUN, the app could fail with unexpected behavior or for an unknown cause. To use thinly provisioned LUNs in Windows 8 or Windows Server , system and storage administrators should be aware of these matters:. Current reclaim methods are manual i. The status quo is unacceptable. Organizations should be able to readily access information about the status of their storage in order to make more informed storage planning decisions.
As Nolan points out:. Fortunately, organizations do have access to one tool that does just that.
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