It’s a given that virtual servers need a good networked data storage system to yield the biggest benefits.

However, some types of storage work better than others in certain environments – and deciding between the different options is one of the most critical – and challenging – architecture choices you’ll have to make.

Fortunately, in the September 2011 cover story of Storage magazine, Eric Siebert clears up some of the confusion as he looks at the characteristics of Fibre Channel, iSCSI and NAS and reviews the pros and cons of each for virtual environments.

Also in the September 2011 issue of Storage Magazine Online:

• Storage editorial chief Rich Castagna reveals the winners of our latest Quality Awards survey for midrange storage arrays

• Tony Asaro’s “StorWars” column examines the potential impact of enterprise virtual storage appliances

• Jacob Gsoedl explains how and why cloud backup is now ready for the enterprise

• Rich Castagna provides additional commentary as he wonders why the simple concept of cloud storage has gotten to be so complicated

• Terri McClure’s “Hot Spots” column highlights simple and safe ways for cautious end users to get started with the cloud

• Arun Taneja’s “Read/Write” column explores the problem with I/O performance and why it’s the next frontier the computer industry must conquer

• And more