Configuring and Deploying Storage

In a cloud or enterprise computing environment, the storage systems are external from the servers. Each server will usually not have a large array of hard or solid-state drives installed locally inside for use by the VMs running on that specific server. In fact, many servers may not contain any hard drives at all.

Instead, large storage systems that are external to the servers and interconnected over a storage area network are implemented. The design of the SAN and storage arrays is critical for server and application performance. If there is a high read and write latency on the drives or contention over the storage network, performance will suffer. To alleviate the performance issues, the cloud provider may implement enterprise-grade storage systems with solid-state drives or high RPM rates on mechanical disks, fast I/O interconnections, ample bandwidth to the storage controller, and SAN interfaces that are fast enough to handle the anticipated storage...