At its most basic, file virtualization is about separating file data from restrictions in how it is accessed and manipulated. Simply put, you get a lot of functionality out of accessing files via CIFS or NFS, like you probably do in your NAS environment, whether on a traditional file server or a NAS appliance. But at the same time in this file environment that manages the majority of our data today, you get roped into a lot of restrictions. Most importantly, your clients, desktops, servers, or applications get tied into a single access path. And if you try to move files or directories, you can break things pretty bad.

File virtualization can mask the way you access your file data, and let you move and manipulate your stored files or directories without impact on your clients. So if your file storage infrastructure has really grown and you have lots of data being accessed by lots of different business systems, this can be a tremendous benefit. It can also ease things when it comes to migrating those storage systems. Read this presentation transcript to find out more about file virtualization.