Storage virtualization technology can be a big help to data storage managers - it reduces the amount of physical storage by pooling multiple devices together to make it look like they're one storage device that's controlled at a central console. This simplifies backup, recovery and other storage tasks, as well as the time it takes to do them.

But storage virtualization has its challenges. Software and hardware are often offered by different vendors, which can make it difficult to solve problems when something goes wrong.

In this SearchStorage.com podcast transcript, Marc Staimer - president at Dragon Slayer Consulting - discusses the ins and outs of storage virtualization technology. Find out the pros and cons of storage virtualization, when to rule out storage virtualization in your environment, and how to decide between file-based or block-based storage virtualization in your data center.