Which function streamlines the management of storage resources based on policy?

The function that streamlines the management of storage resources based on policy is Storage Policy-Based Management. This approach allows administrators to define specific storage policies that align with their organization's requirements and automatically apply these policies to virtual machines and data stores. By using Storage Policy-Based Management, organizations can ensure that the right storage capabilities are assigned to the appropriate workloads, improving efficiency and simplifying management.

The key benefit of this function is the ability to automate compliance with defined storage requirements, such as performance levels, redundancy, and availability metrics, which enhances both operational efficiency and resource utilization. This method also supports dynamic changes, meaning that if workloads evolve or organizational needs shift, storage resources can be reallocated or adjusted without significant manual intervention.

Other options like data deduplication, automatic storage tiering, and storage clustering serve different purposes. Data deduplication focuses on reducing storage capacity by eliminating duplicate copies of data. Automatic storage tiering dynamically moves data between different types of storage tiers based on usage patterns to optimize performance and cost. Storage clustering enhances availability and scalability by grouping storage resources, but it does not inherently manage resources based on specific policies as Storage Policy-Based Management does.