Storage provisioning, also referred to as storage allocating, is the process of assigning storage space to a computing device.

Whether being assigned to a server, virtual machine, or other device, the storage capacity must be allocated and configured in a way that is consistent with the device’s specifications and remaining capacity. How this is done can determine how efficient storage devices are – and how much money is spent on storage capacity.

For more about provisioning, thin vs. thick provisioning, and cost-saving measures, read our Storage Management 101.

In the past, storage provisioning was (and still often is) completed by SAN administrators. However, with the emergence of VMware, hyperconverged infrastructures, public cloud, and other multi-platform storage architectures, storage assignments are an important concern for any IT infrastructure professional.

For example, under-provisioning in these environments can have financial consequences (wasted money on cloud capacity contracts or VM space). In fact, 2020 research by HPE found that two-thirds of cloud and on-prem organizations are wasting 40% or more of their purchased storage!

“Orphaned storage” is our term for any device space that has been allocated but is not in use (ie: assigned with no I/O mapped back). Like zombies, this storage space seems alive and in use but is not actually doing anything. You won’t find them by simply looking for unused space, but using a tool like Visual Storage Intelligence helps you find them in minutes. One company saved over $1 million by doing just that!

Fragmented storage is available space that is divided among too many pools, rendering it unusable without consolidating pool-level allocations. Fortunately, Visual Storage Intelligence provides space fragmentation reporting, highlighting fragmented storage in minutes so you can take action and get more out of your storage assets.

Volume-locked free space is available storage space that is fragmented among multiple volumes. In some storage devices, it looks invisible if all the volumes of a pool are technically in use (thin-provisioned). Even though there is fractional free space on the volumes, the pool as a whole appears to be full. Visual Storage Intelligence® provides volume-level reporting that illuminates these opportunities.

Yes! With a standard subscription you have full, 24/7 data collection and reporting – including all of our storage provisioning visibility and insights. Plus, you can try us out free for 30 days.