Server virtualization consolidates many servers onto one platform, placing many "eggs" in "one basket." Any failure affecting a server impacts the virtual machines (VMs) on those machines and their many users. As a result, virtual servers must be supported by, fault-tolerant, data protection and by storage resources that "fail-over" to keep production applications running and users working in the event of a failure. Storage networks (whether connected with Fiber Channel, Ethernet, or both) facilitate effective storage protection and fail-over. For these reasons, VMware best practices suggest the use of a storage area network or "SAN." Today, affordable, flexible and hardware independent, SAN storage virtualization software provides the industry's highest level of data protection and seamless fail-over to keep production applications running in the event of a failure. Because these solutions are "open" platforms and are not restricted to a particular brand of storage hardware, they are more affordable to build and grow. Other SAN solutions (even those that claim to offer some storage ‘virtualization') are not - because they require use of the vendor's storage hardware products, which in many cases are not the best value or fit for the intended use.