Virtual machine storage policies are essential to virtual machine provisioning through SPBM. The policies control which type of storage is provided for the virtual machine and how the virtual machine is placed within storage. They also determine data services that the virtual machine can use.
vSphere offers default storage policies. In addition, you can define policies and assign them to the virtual machines.
You use the VM Storage Policies interface to create a storage policy. When you define the policy, you specify various storage requirements for applications that run on the virtual machines. You can also use storage policies to request specific data services, such as caching or replication, for virtual disks.
You apply the storage policy when you create, clone, or migrate the virtual machine. After you apply the storage policy, the SPBM mechanism assists you with placing the virtual machine in a matching datastore. In certain storage environments, SPBM determines how the virtual machine storage objects are provisioned and allocated within the storage resource to guarantee the required level of service. The SPBM also enables requested data services for the virtual machine and helps you to monitor policy compliance.
