RSS
Email
Print
ShareMicrosoft Opens iSCSI Window
Posted by Dave Raffo on July 7, 2006
Early feedback from Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 indicates improvement over Microsoft's previous storage OS and a nice complement for IP SANs.
That said, early adopters are also quick to add that R2 is still very much a work in progress.
R2 extends Microsoft's reach beyond the NAS systems powered by its Windows Server 2003. While Storage Server 2003 R2 still ships mostly on NAS servers from partners such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, it seems a good fit for companies looking for file and block storage on IP SANs.
Improvements in Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 include single-instance storage for compression, disk quotas and file screening for improved utilization, and Distributed File System (DFS) for replicating across distances. (See Microsoft Widens Storage Window.)
Still, at least one customer warns one not expect too much from Microsoft's new storage OS.
"It's an upgrade. It's not a brand new product," says Andrew Miller, IT consultant for Denver-based Specialty Sports. "It's not earth-shattering."
Not that Miller's complaining. He installed a LeftHand Networks SAN Filer 150 NAS gateway running Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 earlier this year for the chain of 120 sporting goods stores in Colorado and California. Miller says the combination of the gateway and an IP SAN running LeftHand's SAN/iQ volume management let Specialty Sports spend about one-third of what a low-end Fibre Channel SAN would have cost.
Add Your Comment: