Virtualization, a once almost unheard of method for managing IT resources is quickly becoming a standard IT practice using proven technologies such as VMware's ESX product family. The ability to fully utilize hardware and consolidate server, network and especially storage resources, has lead to unmatched efficiencies of IT resource management and cost savings. Taking unused CPU cycles and RAM combined with better management of fast growing disk space needs and network connectivity in an abstract, virtual manner enables efficient economies of scale. This in turn creates opportunities for easier management and allocation of infrastructure, backup, redeployment and re-location of IT rollouts. Once configured, the virtualization benefits are simple, yet impacting. One can combine and run OS's and applications on the same machine or across a set of machines fluidly where Virtual Machine (VM) configuration and inspection is almost trivial. Production up-time, backups, disaster recovery and hardware failures are more easily handled with no or little impact to production systems when deployed correctly. Decoupling hardware and resources leads to easier aggregation and management of these same resources for more efficient and impacting utilization.
To experience the full benefits of virtualization, an IT environment is required to use network storage. Moving storage out from the servers and onto the network is critical for sharing, managing and growing storage resources. Until now, network storage was either slow or expensive with performance and scalability as key concerns. Now there is a very high performance option that is very fast, affordable and scalable giving virtualization environments a much needed network storage advantage. Enter the CORAID EtherDrive SAN Host Bus Adapter. The EtherDrive HBA is designed specifically for VMware ESX 3.5 environments allowing users to enjoy the benefits of CORAID EtherDrive family of ATA-over-Ethernet (AoE) based storage area network products. For more information, visit www.coraid.com
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