•Set physical capacity utilization thresholds based on pace of data generation: By creating notification mechanisms for when these thresholds are reached, sufficient time will be available to properly plan storage expansion. Setting a correct threshold is most important. For example, if an application fills 10% of capacity within only a few days, setting the utilization threshold at 90% could lead to major problems, as the user will not have enough time to plan capacity expansion in order to ensure that an application can continue to operate normally.

The benefits of thin provisioning are numerous and can generate considerable cost savings. With thin provisioning technology now widely available in the storage market, it should be a key consideration for companies planning to acquire new storage solutions.

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in Network World's Data Center section.