Is file archiving the same as information lifecycle management (ILM) or file virtualization?
This tends to be a gray area. Part of that reason it’s blurred is because ILM is a way of thinking; it’s a way of managing, governing and protecting data, making sure it’s available when and where needed in a cost-effective manner. That’s where it blurs with file archiving, which falls under the broad umbrella of an ILM. On the other hand, file virtualization can get blurred with this distinction, depending on your definition of virtualization. To some, file virtualization is only virtualization if it’s software running on an appliance with third-party storage. However, in a bigger and broader definition of virtualization, it’s a principal and enabler for transparent movements. Its basic tenants are abstraction, emulation, enabling, agility and flexibility. So there’s a common thinking that virtualization is around consolidating, squeezing and compacting — that’s one tenant. But the other is around abstraction, emulation, transparency and agility. In other words, things that seem to b
