The leading provider of highly available iSCSI SANs, LeftHand Networks®, announced today SAN compatibility and support for Microsoft’s newest version of its flagship server operating system, Windows Server 2008. Customers can deploy Windows Server 2008 systems connected to a LeftHand Networks SAN with confidence since the LeftHand Networks iSCSI SAN has achieved the Windows Server 2008 iSCSI target device Logo. The Windows Server 2008 Logo ensures testing and interoperability with LeftHand Networks SAN systems.

    Larry Cormier, vice president of Marketing at LeftHand Networks said: “Windows Server 2008 adds many new storage management features, and really sets a new standard for iSCSI SAN integration”. “When coupled with the advanced SAN features found in all LeftHand Networks SANs, Windows Server 2008 delivers new levels of data protection, high availability and performance for our mutual customers.”

    Connecting the server to the iSCSI SAN system is easy and straightforward, because Windows Server 2008 ships with a fully integrated iSCSI initiator out of the box. Windows Server 2008 supports larger data partitions on the SAN, the ability to boot from iSCSI devices, native multi-pathing, the ability to shrink existing volumes, and installation of the Windows Server operating system directly to an iSCSI device, in addition to the embedded initiator. The LeftHand Networks SAN integrates directly with a Windows Server 2008 system with an updated version of its Solution Pack for Windows. Included in the solution pack are a VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) provider for Snapshot management, a VDS (Virtual Disk Service) provider for Volume provisioning and a Device Specific Module (DSM) for Microsoft MPIO, all updated to run on the Windows Server 2008 platform.

    Tony de Freitas, Director, Windows Server at Microsoft said: “As a Microsoft Gold Partner, LeftHand Networks has been working with the Windows Core Storage team for more than a year on integrating, testing, and performance-tuning their iSCSI SAN systems with Windows Server 2008, and we are pleased that they are participating in the launch”. “iSCSI is an ideal storage interface for applications like Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and SharePoint. LeftHand Networks fully leverages iSCSI and all the Windows Server 2008 storage capabilities to provide a strong storage platform for these applications.”