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uses these datastores as virtual machine storage. Typically, the datastore is the lowest granularity level at
which data management occurs from a storage perspective. However, a single datastore contains
multiple virtual machines, which might have different requirements. With the traditional approach, it is
difficult to meet the requirements of an individual virtual machine.
The Virtual Volumes functionality helps to improve granularity. It helps you to differentiate virtual machine
services on a per application level by offering a new approach to storage management. Rather than
arranging storage around features of a storage system, Virtual Volumes arranges storage around the
needs of individual virtual machines, making storage virtual-machine centric.
Virtual Volumes maps virtual disks and their derivatives, clones, snapshots, and replicas, directly to
objects, called virtual volumes, on a storage system. This mapping allows vSphere to offload intensive
storage operations such as snapshot, cloning, and replication to the storage system.
By creating a volume for each virtual disk, you can set policies at the optimum level. You can decide in
advance what the storage requirements of an application are, and communicate these requirements to
the storage system. The storage system creates an appropriate virtual disk based on these requirements.
For example, if your virtual machine requires an active-active storage array, you no longer must select a
datastore that supports the active-active model. Instead, you create an individual virtual volume that is
automatically placed to the active-active array.
Virtual Volumes Concepts
With Virtual Volumes, abstract storage containers replace traditional storage volumes based on LUNs or
NFS shares. In vCenter Server, the storage containers are represented by Virtual Volumes datastores.
Virtual Volumes datastores store virtual volumes, objects that encapsulate virtual machine files.
Watch the video to learn more about different components of the Virtual Volumes functionality.
Virtual Volumes Part 1: Concepts
(http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2296383276001?
bctid=ref:video_vvols_part1_concepts)
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Virtual Volumes
Virtual volumes are encapsulations of virtual machine files, virtual disks, and their derivatives.
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Virtual Volumes and Storage Providers
A Virtual Volumes storage provider, also called a VASA provider, is a software component that acts
as a storage awareness service for vSphere. The provider mediates out-of-band communication
between vCenter Server and ESXi hosts on one side and a storage system on the other.
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Storage Containers
Unlike traditional LUN and NFS-based storage, the Virtual Volumes functionality does not require
preconfigured volumes on a storage side. Instead, Virtual Volumes uses a storage container. It is a
pool of raw storage capacity or an aggregation of storage capabilities that a storage system can
provide to virtual volumes.
vSphere Storage
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