Chapter 8. Virtualizing Storage and Backup

Virtualization changes the storage paradigm. In the old days, end users would have a hard disk inside their laptop or workstation, where the operating system was installed and where they also stored all of their data. If you use a virtual desktop, you won't have a local storage any more. You might have local storage; however, the Information Technology (IT) department will require user data to be stored close to the virtual machines somewhere in the data center or cloud. If you refer back to the network diagram presented in Chapter 1, Designing a XenDesktop^® Site, and also to the diagram that follows, you will see two types of storage devices: one for a SQL Server and the other for VDI storage or virtual machine storage. We will discuss the differences between a SQL Server and VDI storage in this chapter. Specifically, we will cover the following topics:

• Storage considerations

• Storage requirements

• Backing up

• Restoring