With evolved Network File System and Internet Small Computer System Interface

Nov 1, 2011 19:01 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has continuously been adapting its technologies in accordance to customer needs, better tailoring products such as Windows Server to run in mixed source environments.

This is also the case of Windows Server 8, the next iteration of Windows Server, with Thomas Pfenning, general manager of File Server Team, revealing that the operating system has been designed with heterogeneous storage support in mind.

A Developer Preview of Windows Server 8 was offered to early adopters for testing in September 2011, along with the Windows 8 Developer Preview.

“Some of our customers have a mix of Windows and Unix/Linux client machines. Windows Server 8 multiprotocol storage technologies aren’t new to Windows Server,” Pfenning explained.

“The IT admin can use the same Windows Server 8 system to store data from both Unix/Linux clients (via the NFS protocol) and Windows clients (via the SMB protocol). We have continued to augment this capability, including use of improved clustering to deliver a more highly-available storage platform that is also a cost-effective choice for our customers.”

With Windows Server 8, customers will get an evolved Network File System (NFS) stack, with the software giant promising boosted stability, reliability and performance.

In the next major iteration of Windows Server, NFS has been kicked up to version 4.1, which means that it offers a range of enhancements, including a new flat file-based identity mapping store, better PowerShell management, full Kerberos v5 support, as well as storage for VMWare Virtual Machines.

Pfenning also stresses that Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) has a bigger role to play in Windows Server 8.

Early adopters testing Windows Server 8 might have noticed that iSCSI Software Target 3.3 is included by default into the platform, and no longer available as a standalone download, as is the case for Windows Server 2008 R2.

“With the investments and enhancements that we have made for NFS and iSCSI, Windows Server 8 will provide an even more compelling storage platform that addresses our customers’ heterogeneous IT requirements,” Pfenning added.

“Both NFS and iSCSI target can be deployed with Windows failover clustering to enable transparent fail over of workloads, ensuring applications continue to work without errors in case of a network or node failure.”