Configuring Failover Clusters with Windows Storage Server 2008

The Windows Storage Server Team just released a new 30-page white paper on "Configuring Failover Clusters with Windows Storage Server 2008". This paper will guide you through the process of configuring the networks, domains and clustering features, including performance recommendations for a pair of Windows Storage Server 2008 appliances hosting a File Server or a Microsoft … Continue reading Configuring Failover Clusters with Windows Storage Server 2008 →

Six Uses for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target

Scott M. Johnson, a Program Manager in the Windows Storage Server team, has just published a new blog post that might give you some ideas on different ways to use the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target. He outlines six different uses for it: 1) Consolidate storage for multiple application servers.2) Test and Development scenarios are endless, … Continue reading Six Uses for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target →

Windows Storage Server 2008 with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.2 available to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers

This blog post is obsolete, since new versions of Windows Storage Server and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target are now available on MSDN and Technet. For details on new releases, check http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2010/09/27/windows-storage-server-2008-r2-and-the-microsoft-iscsi-software-target-3-3-are-available-on-msdn-technet-here-s-how-to-install-them.aspx Also, the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 for Windows Server 2008 R2 is now available as a public download.For details, check http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2011/04/04/microsoft-iscsi-software-target-3-3-for-windows-server-2008-r2-available-for-public-download.aspx Overview … Continue reading Windows Storage Server 2008 with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.2 available to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers →

Windows Storage Server 2008 and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.2

I am glad to share that Windows Storage Server 2008 (WSS 2008) and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.2 have been released to the Microsoft OEM partners. This is the successor to Windows Storage Server 2003 (WSS 2003) and Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 (WUDSS 2003). I have been working closely with some of … Continue reading Windows Storage Server 2008 and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.2 →

Step-by-step: Using the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target with Hyper-V (Standalone, Full, VHD)

Overview In this post, I will show all the steps required to run Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target. We will cover the specific scenario of a standalone Windows Server 2008 server (as opposed to a clustered one) on a full install (as opposed to a core install) and using a … Continue reading Step-by-step: Using the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target with Hyper-V (Standalone, Full, VHD) →

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Failover Clustering Options

There are many ways to implement Windows Server Failover Clustering with Hyper-V. I could actually find five unique methods to do it. Some of them will actually not give you a fully fault-tolerant solution, but most of them actually make sense in specific scenarios (even if only for demonstrations). In any case, just trying to … Continue reading Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Failover Clustering Options →

Installing the VSS Hardware Provider for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on Windows Server 2008

Overview In this article, we’ll describe the process to install the VSS Hardware Provider (and, incidentally, the VDS Hardware Provider) for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target, which is part of Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 (WUDSS 2003). This package, referred to as “Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Client” supports both Windows Server 2003 and Windows … Continue reading Installing the VSS Hardware Provider for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on Windows Server 2008 →

Installing the VDS Hardware Provider for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on Windows Server 2008

Overview In this article, we’ll describe the process to install the VDS Hardware Provider (and, incidentally, the VSS Hardware Provider) for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target, which is part of Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 (WUDSS 2003). This package, referred to as “Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Client” supports both Windows Server 2003 and Windows … Continue reading Installing the VDS Hardware Provider for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on Windows Server 2008 →

The Basics of Windows Server 2008 Storage Explorer

1 – What is Storage Explorer Storage Explorer is a new tool in Windows Server 2008 to help you understand how your server SAN storage is configured. It provides information about the storage fabrics (Fibre Channel and iSCSI) and also about the configuration of each server. This new tool can greatly help you understand your … Continue reading The Basics of Windows Server 2008 Storage Explorer →

RAID configuration options for WSS and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target

It’s very common for a server running Windows Storage Server (WSS) with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target or Windows Unified Data Storage Server (WUDSS) to include a RAID controller and many hard drives in the box. I got a question on exactly how to configure RAID volumes for this kind of setup. The standard “it … Continue reading RAID configuration options for WSS and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target →