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Listen up, VMware admins: If the array won't support it, VVOL won't help you...

There are limits

Comment VMware's VVOL allows VMware admins to manage storage arrays through the API – but it doesn't necessarily mean they get to use all the VVOL data services.

PernixData's Tech Evangelist Frank Denneman told us: "The interesting bits in the VVOL announcement are the supported 'Data Service' capabilities. As VVOL is an API, you can claim support quite easily, however it's actually the data service capabilities that makes it really interesting. So which ones are going to support Replication, Snapshot, Deduplication and Quality of Service right off the bat? That's the true differentiator."

Of course. If the underlying array doesn't support, for example, deduplication, then it can't support VVOL deduplication services.

Ask your vendor which VVOL-based services they support. A neat idea would be to build a VVOL support matrix. El Reg going to build one and will make it available here.

If you want VVOL-like functionality for Hyper-V and Linux KVM server virtualisation environments – tough luck, unless you find a storage array vendor that has VVOL-like functionality native in its software and supports Hyper-V and KVM *. ®

* There is one and its name rhymes with wintry.

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