Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 are available on MSDN/TechNet – here’s how to install them

After this post was release, the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 for Windows Server 2008 R2 became 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 You probably heard that Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 has been Released To Manufacturing (RTM) last week. That means that the OEMs will soon deliver a new generation of … Continue reading Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 are available on MSDN/TechNet – here’s how to install them →

Notes from SNIA’s Storage Developers Conference (SDC) 2010 and CIFS/SMB/SMB2 Plugfest

If you’re following me on Twitter, you probably noticed I am attending SNIA’s Software Developer’s Conference 2010 (SDC 2010) and the CIFS/SMB/SMB2 PlugFest this week. The agenda for the event is published at http://www.snia.org/events/storage-developer2010/agenda2010. Here are some random notes from the event, some of them taken from a few earlier tweets (some sessions are just … Continue reading Notes from SNIA’s Storage Developers Conference (SDC) 2010 and CIFS/SMB/SMB2 Plugfest →

Random notes on Storage IO Performance

Here are some random notes I took during a presentation to Storage IO Performance this morning: SSDs: Still not a 'solid state' business - http://bit.ly/cdqA1b - "False expectations" and why they "won't replace hard drives" A PRAM and NAND Flash Hybrid Architecture for High-Performance Embedded Storage Subsystems - http://bit.ly/95ZY83  Resistive RAM Gains Ground - Faith … Continue reading Random notes on Storage IO Performance →

Using the multiple NICs of your File Server running Windows Server 2008 (and 2008 R2)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog post was created before the release of Windows Server 2012, which introduced SMB 3.0 and the new SMB Multichannel feature and significantly improved SMB's ability to use multiple network interfaces. You can read more about SMB Multichannel at http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2012/06/28/the-basics-of-smb-multichannel-a-feature-of-windows-server-2012-and-smb-3-0.aspx ------------------------------------------------------ 1 - Overview When you set up a … Continue reading Using the multiple NICs of your File Server running Windows Server 2008 (and 2008 R2) →

SNIA’s Storage Developers Conference 2010 is just a few weeks away

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is hosting the 7th Storage Developer Conference (SDC) in the Hyatt Regency in beautiful Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley) on the week of September 20th. As usual, Microsoft is underwriting the CIFS/SMB/SMB2 Plugfest, which is co-located with the SDC event. For developers working with storage-related technologies, this event gathers … Continue reading SNIA’s Storage Developers Conference 2010 is just a few weeks away →

Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 R2

I am often asked about File Server performance. The usual conversation evolves into a discussion on what registry settings would be recommend to make a file server work faster. We typically end up talking about specific settings for performance tuning and how they might affect application compatibility, prevent connection with older client versions, produce unwanted results in specific … Continue reading Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 R2 →

The difference between a 2TB SATA drive and the storage provided by your IT department

Every once in a while the question comes up. How come my IT department is charging me tens of dollars per gigabyte of storage for my application per month when I can pay less than 15 cents per gigabyte at Best Buy (where a 2TB drive might cost less than $150)? The conversation then includes long discussions … Continue reading The difference between a 2TB SATA drive and the storage provided by your IT department →

Multiple names for one computer – Consolidate your SMB file servers without breaking UNC paths

Overview This blog post covers a few different ways to consolidate multiple SMB file servers and keep exposing the consolidated file shares under the old share paths. Scenario Let’s say you currently have 3 file servers named file1.contoso.local, file2.contoso.local and file3.contoso.local and you want to consolidate them into a single Windows Server computer called cfile.contoso.local. … Continue reading Multiple names for one computer – Consolidate your SMB file servers without breaking UNC paths →

Experimenting with Windows Azure and understanding its runtime environment better

Overview I recently learned how to develop, test and deploy a Windows Azure application. This post describes how created and deployed a sample application. Please note that I am not a member of the Windows Azure team and this post covers my own personal experience with the service. Tools My experimentation was made easier by the … Continue reading Experimenting with Windows Azure and understanding its runtime environment better →