Which storage type would BEST support cloning OS images across hypervisors without using local drives?

Which storage type would BEST support cloning OS images across hypervisors without using local drives?

• A. CAS
• B. NAS
• C. DAS
• D. SAN

Answer: (D)

Centralized, shared block storage that’s accessible to all hypervisors enables fast, network-based cloning of OS images without relying on local drives. A Storage Area Network presents raw disk storage (LUNs) to each host, so you can store a VM OS image once on the SAN and create clones or snapshots across multiple hypervisors without moving data to local disks. The high-speed fabrics (such as Fibre Channel or iSCSI) and the ability to perform atomic operations like clones and snapshots make provisioning new VMs quick and consistent, with excellent data integrity and performance. The other options don’t fit as well. Content-addressable storage is geared toward archival and deduplication, not active VM image provisioning. NAS offers shared file-level storage, which can be slower for VM images and doesn’t provide the same level of block-level access and efficient cloning. Direct-attached storage stays local to a single host and isn’t readily shared across multiple hypervisors, which defeats the goal of cloning across environments.

Centralized, shared block storage that’s accessible to all hypervisors enables fast, network-based cloning of OS images without relying on local drives. A Storage Area Network presents raw disk storage (LUNs) to each host, so you can store a VM OS image once on the SAN and create clones or snapshots across multiple hypervisors without moving data to local disks. The high-speed fabrics (such as Fibre Channel or iSCSI) and the ability to perform atomic operations like clones and snapshots make provisioning new VMs quick and consistent, with excellent data integrity and performance.

The other options don’t fit as well. Content-addressable storage is geared toward archival and deduplication, not active VM image provisioning. NAS offers shared file-level storage, which can be slower for VM images and doesn’t provide the same level of block-level access and efficient cloning. Direct-attached storage stays local to a single host and isn’t readily shared across multiple hypervisors, which defeats the goal of cloning across environments.