The End of the C:\ Drive?

Wow, this is a pretty big statement. No longer will it matter what drive is designated as what since we not have to concern ourselves with a file’s specific location. While there are lost likely going to be some issues with this as time passes, I feel that it could prove to be a good thing over time.

In global corporations, storage centers have evolved into their own massive, transcontinental networks. Virtualization technology has evolved in tandem, in an effort to enable users to focus on their files, rather than their physical or geographic locations. But virtualization also appeals to the managers of smaller, more localized networks - where inefficiencies and everyday disasters still abound - on account of operating systems and bus architectures that have failed to evolve at the same pace.

Enterprise networks are already preparing to embrace what storage systems analyst John Webster calls the “second wave of storage virtualization.” Groundbreaking new devices may alter the very topology of large network domains, including so-called “intelligent switches” permeating the fabric of EMC storage networks, and dedicated virtualizing controllers from Hitachi Data Systems. How these manufacturers’ new agendas play out among their high-end customers may very well determine the shape and function of the virtualization devices and appliances available to small and medium-sized businesses over the next few years. The key variable is which, if any, new technology sets a standard for lower-end vendors to follow. [Read the rest]