Storage sprawl is a common problem in virtualized IT environment. As it is very easy to create new virtual machines for any type of purpose, your organization's storage requirements increase significantly. Every additional VM contains yet another 10 Gigabyte copy of Windows and various other components that are part of the golden image.

Virsto addresses this problem in two ways:

1. Unlimited Snapshots based on one Golden Image: Virsto clones and snapshots do require only minimal disk space, as they are based on the Golden Image. In other words, the 10 Gigabyte copy of Windows remains in the Golden Image, instead of being copied to each VM. When additional clones are added, I/O performance does not deteriorate.

2. Thinly Provisioned VHD: Virsto provides a hardware-independent abstraction layer between your SAN and your VHD. This means that your individual VHDs will only take up as much space on the SAN as required to update the respective clone.

Result:

90% reduction in disk consumption per additional VM

VHDs are thinly provisioned. New VMs only use up the SAN space they need at the current moment.