Microsoft is expected to roll out the new version of Windows Storage Server Thursday – a software package that incorporates iSCSI, NFS, DFS and file services for the SMB. In addition to including file-level deduplication, Windows Storage Server includes multipath IO (MPIO), file server resource management (FSRM) and hardware and software-based RAID support.
What else is new with Windows Storage Server? It includes a new version of Server Message Block, which has been rejiggered to reduce its chatty nature and allow multiple commands to be folded into a single packet. FSRM has been enhanced to support quotas and file screening, as well as increased reporting options. Full-volume encryption is also available through BitLocker. And Storage Manager for SANs lets IT managers perform an array of management tasks from within Windows.
In addition, Windows Storage Server is chock-full of other features. NTBackup has been replaced by Windows Server Backup. IT can search for files that are stored on Windows Storage Server and the virtual disk service supports shrinking of LUNs, adjustable read/only and read/write settings. Clustering for failover has been simplified and is now easier to deploy.
That’s a whole lot of features and functionality. To read more about Windows Storage Server, which will be announced tomorrow, visit storage expert extraordinaire Steven Foskett’s blog.
That is where you’ll get the most information about Windows Storage Server before the announcement tomorrow.
The bad part of Windows Storage Server now that you are all worked up is that it is only available from OEMs such as Dell and HP. So you should expect vendors that have used Windows Storage Server in their products to introduce products soon.
