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• July 1, 2003 •
Microsoft yesterday announced the availability of its Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) software initiator package, including the Microsoft® iSCSI initiator service and the Microsoft iSCSI initiator software driver. Available now via Web download at no charge, the software driver is for Microsoft Windows® 2000 client and server versions, Windows XP, and the recently launched Windows Server™ 2003 family of products.
Recently ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), iSCSI is a storage protocol designed to transport block-level storage traffic over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It enables low-cost solutions that provide businesses with performance, reliability and security technologies for their storage area networks (SANs). According to Gartner Dataquest*, by 2006 iSCSI will emerge to connect nearly 1.5 million servers to SANs -- more than any competing technology.
Microsoft is playing an important role in bringing the storage vendor community together to make iSCSI-based applications and storage devices a reality for customers. More than 85 independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) are developing Windows-based applications and storage hardware products for iSCSI. To ensure technology interoperability and quality assurance for its customers, Microsoft has created an iSCSI Designed for Windows Logo Program to enable IHVs to qualify their Windows-targeted iSCSI hardware components for optimal reliability and interoperability with Microsoft Windows products.
Microsoft's iSCSI initiator package download includes support for data encryption including Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), Internet Storage Name Service for both server and client, management via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and an architecture that aggregates the different hardware initiators into a common framework.
Downloads
Related Article: Microsoft Windows to Include Support for iSCSI
