HP has begun shipping the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform (SVSP). This is a network-based storage virtualization system that can migrate and manage data between midrange arrays in different SAN environments.

The SVSP pools capacity across heterogeneous storage hardware from HP and other hardware vendors. It provides users with storage services, such as online data migration, thin provisioning, and replication—including clones, snapshots, synchronous local mirroring, and asynchronous remote mirroring for disaster recovery.

"This is a storage virtualization platform for customers experiencing a proliferation of midrange storage arrays", explained HP officials.

The virtualization technology is based on a partnership with LSI. LSI's virtualization platform is the Storage Virtualization Manager, that provides virtual volume management in different environments.