Core Storage, introduced by Apple in Mac OS X Lion, is a logical volume manager that acts as a virtual layer between the partition scheme used on the physical storage device and the file system. It served as the foundation for FileVault 2 and enabled native disk encryption for Macs in Lion. In Mountain Lion, it expanded its use for the Fusion Drive configuration, a combination of a hard drive and a solid state drive treated as one logical element. However, it was dropped in macOS 10.13 High Sierra due to its lack of support for APFS.
In the storage management segment, products using Core Storage provide basic data organization functions like file system and disk management, storage virtualization software, thin provisioning, and disk utilities. Storage virtualization software creates a layer of abstraction that separates physical storage from logical storage, simplifies storage management, and enables optimization of storage resources through pooling.
FAQs
What is Core Storage used for?
Core Storage acts as a virtual layer between the partition scheme used on the physical storage device and the file system. It served as the foundation for FileVault 2 and enabled native disk encryption for Macs in Lion. In Mountain Lion, it expanded its use for the Fusion Drive configuration, a combination of a hard drive and a solid state drive treated as one logical element.
Why was Core Storage dropped starting with macOS 10.13 High Sierra?
Core Storage was dropped in macOS 10.13 High Sierra due to its lack of support for APFS.
What functions does Storage virtualization software provide?
Storage virtualization software creates a layer of abstraction that separates physical storage from logical storage, simplifies storage management, and enables optimization of storage resources through pooling.
Final Thoughts
Core Storage played an important role in storage management, particularly in enabling native disk encryption for Macs. While it was dropped in newer macOS versions, it paved the way for storage virtualization software to create a layer of abstraction and simplify storage management.
