Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 - News, Reviews and Analyst Reports

Internetnews.com (January 17, 2007): With Windows Storage Server continuing to win over small and mid-size customers and Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 making inroads into the enterprise space, Microsoft appears to be the vendor to beat in the storage server space.

WinSystems.com (May 11, 2006): "The latest update to Windows Storage Server adds Single Instance Storage (SIS), a feature that Microsoft claims can reduce storage demands up to 70 percent."

eWeek.com (Feburary 2006): "Appliances running Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 will likely be more useful and efficient with the R2 update. In addition . . . the storage operating system adds some compelling features, including SIS (Single Instance Storage) and improved indexing."

InfoWorld (February 2, 2006): "The key to WSS 2003 is convenience combined with enterprise muscle. WSS drops into a Windows network like a cheese head into Green Bay. And once there, it's supposed to offer enterprise-level storage smarts with almost appliancelike ease-of-use. Continuing this trend is R2 of WSS 2003, which Microsoft is releasing very soon -- and with a couple of key goodies users should look for."

eWeek (March 6, 2006): Microsoft breathed new life into its growing storage business on March 3, announcing the acquisition of WinTarget and iSCSI-based software technology assets from String Bean Software, and solidifying its push into information lifecycle management through an expanded partnership with EMC. Financial terms of Microsoft's agreement to purchase WinTarget from privately held String Bean Software, based in Montgomery Village, Md., have not been released.

InfoWorld (March 6, 2006): At the end of a rather busy week for storage (is there any other kind, I wonder?), Microsoft announced the intention to acquire WinTarget from String Bean Software and to make that technology part of Windows Storage Server in the future, starting with WSS 2003 R2. What will Microsoft gain from adding WinTarget technology to WSS? In essence, the ability to serve both blocks and files to its clients over an iSCSI network.

Byte and Switch (March 3, 2006): Microsoft made a bigger push into iSCSI, with the help of technology it acquired today from String Bean Software. Microsoft bought the intellectual property of String Bean, giving it the startup's WinTarget software that turns a Windows file server into an iSCSI target. Microsoft's decision to make an iSCSI initiator available for free in 2003 is considered one of the drivers of IP SAN adoption because it saved users from having to buy expensive TCP/IP offload cards (TOEs). (See Microsoft Sparks iSCSI Liftoff.)

This paper by D.H. Brown Associates, Inc. is a supplement to Windows-Based NAS Enables Customers to Do More with Less. This analysis further illustrates the magnitude of savings customers can realize from choosing Windows-based over non-Windows-based NAS solutions.

Current Network Attached Storage (NAS) products generally fall into two categories: the Windows-based NAS solutions and NAS solutions based on other operating systems and microcodes. This paper by D.H. Brown Associates, Inc. reviews the advantages of choosing NAS devices that run Windows Storage Server 2003.

See how Microsoft Windows Server 2003 performs at twice the level of Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 2 and provides 86% better perfomance that Red Hat Linux 8.0 Professional in a Veritest comparison.

This analyst report compares Windows NT to the newer versions of Windows, which offer superior support for networked storage, especially in Storage Area Network (SAN) environments, enabling companies to realize the full benefit of centralized storage management.

"The details regarding Microsoft's latest NAS operating system have been available for some time, however this launch was meant to let the market know that the Windows Storage Server 2003 platform is now generally available from their OEMs."

(April 4, 2006): Today at Storage Networking World Spring 2006, Microsoft announced further progress toward its Universal Distributed Storage commitment with the availability of Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 through OEMs. In addition, Microsoft announced the availability of software-enabled SAN boot of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 using iSCSI technology.

(October 25, 2005): The solutions enabled by Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 and PolyServe Matrix Server provide better modularity and freedom from proprietary hardware that is typical of stand alone appliances. Visit PolyServe at http://www.polyserve.com/consolidate/.