Storage provisioning
Storage provisioning definition
Storage provisioning is the process of allocating and managing storage resources in a system. It optimizes performance, storage capacity, and operation speeds. Storage provisioning ensures that there is enough storage space when and where it is needed.
Storage provisioning can be manual, when administrators allocate storage based on internal policies, or automated, where a program adjusts storage resources based on real-time needs.
Storage can be provisioned in different ways, like direct-attached storage (DAS), network-attached storage (NAS), or storage area networks (SANs), depending on the organization’s needs and infrastructure.
See also: cloud provisioning, storage automation, data center design, data center tiers
Types of storage provisioning
- Thick provisioning. Allocating the entire amount of storage space an application might need, regardless of the current requirement.
- Thin provisioning. Allocating storage dynamically based on real-time needs — it enhances storage efficiency.
- Just-in-time provisioning. Allocating storage on-the-fly as the demand grows.
Advantages and disadvantages
Storage provisioning reduces the amount of money organizations have to spend for storage while also accommodating varying storage demands of various apps and simplifying management through automation. It does have some downsides too — advanced automated methods require high-level expertise to set up and if they are not carefully monitored, thick provisioning procedures can lead to wasted storage assets.