StarWind iSCSI Target software for Windows

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StarWind iSCSI Target software for Windows

by: starwindsoftware
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Overview of iSCSI technology
New technologies provide some solutions you've been searching for, as well as produce new questions and problems. Those connected with data storage, transfer, security etc. raise up with the development of the Internet technology and its spread into the business segment. Thus, business has already became dependent on the information, and in case of info loss it won't be possible to keep on working in that field. Causes of data loss may vary: (un)intentional action, disaster, crime, hacking and so force. A commonly overlooked cause is a natural disaster. Although the probability is small, the only way to recover from data loss due to a natural disaster is to store data in a physically separate location. Actually, all these factors lead to increase of necessity in solutions dedicated to data loss prevention. One of the most effective solutions is emerging standby data storage, and in most cases it should be the remote one. The way of storing the information has to be chosen considering capacity, performance, reliability and manageability of the storage medium
One of the techniques providing this kind of service is iSCSI, which stands for Internet Small Computer System Interface. It fully realizes the concept of remote data storage, and its implementation facilitates easy use of provided technology for those, who actually are non-specialists - and this is a reasonable advantage over FC-SAN (Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks), which has more sophisticated implementation, whilst its performance capabilities are far better then ones of NAS (Network Attached Storage).
As for today, the iSCSI technology is supported by many companies and manufacturers. Those like Cisco and IBM provide different devices handling iSCSI: Cisco SN 542x iSCSI to FC routers, IBM 200i IP storage and so on. Dell has already took care about the storage issues - it has bought network solution provider EqualLogic for 1.4 billion dollar and now due to the fundamental change of Dell's storage managing way, many more new data storage solutions are available because of merging this companies' approach. Considering the most popular operating systems, Microsoft Windows, Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X support at least one of following features: initiator, target, multipath and iSER (Linux and Solaris have all this features). Linux fully supports iSCSI in the upstream kernel from February 2007. Also Emulex, Adaptec, QLogic and Intel provide iSCSI hardware adapters.
Considering the wide range of iSCSI advantages over other technologies and data storage concepts, it is pretty obvious, that if the data storage question is emerged, iSCSI is probably one of technologies worth to be chosen due to its reliability, usability, flexibility and other characteristics. iSCSI protocol is standardized with RFC3720 (Request for Comments, memorandum published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) describing methods, behaviors, research or innovations applicable to the working of the Internet and Internet-connected systems), which states about high level of the iSCSI technology.