Product Reviews

Networks/Servers

FalconStor iSCSI Storage Server for Windows 2 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: FalconStor	PRICE: Ł1,121 exc VAT; Upgrade Included in annual maintenance - 20 per cent of price
RATING:	ISSUE: 136 DATE: Feb 06

Verdict: iSCSI target presentation doesn't get much easier than the FalconStor method, and its optional features make this highly suited to the enterprise as well as the SMB.

FalconStor's iSCSI Storage Server has always been a popular choice with NAS appliance vendors that want to add IP SAN capabilities to their boxes. Up until now, the software has only supported Windows Storage Server 2003 (WSS 2003) powered appliances, but this latest version makes the jump to Windows Server 2003 as well, allowing standard servers to deliver iSCSI target support.

Essentially, iSCSI Storage Server for Windows 2 (iSSW) offers all the same features as its WSS 2003 counterpart. The only significant difference is the management interface, which functions as an MMC snap-in that supports both local and remote access. It allows you to use raw, unformatted storage devices or file devices and present them to the network as iSCSI targets. Installation is a swift affair, and the console is extremely easy to use. You can start by creating storage pools that comprise multiple raw or file devices, allowing them to be combined into a single device. Say you have two 250GB drives, for example: these can be combined into a storage pool and presented as a single 500GB device to the host systems, which can then be carved up into logical units (LUs). The advantages here are that more devices can be added to the pool as demand increases, and either new LUs created or existing ones expanded on-the-fly.

Creating devices is easy enough.



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You choose an unformatted drive or create a file device by selecting an existing volume and then choosing how large it should be. For LU creation, you pick a device from the list and enter a size. This approach means a single device can support as many LUs as you want. Access control comes next, and each host system can be blocked or allowed read-only, exclusive read/write or shared read-write privileges. Host creation is made easier, as iSSW can resolve IP addresses from their host names. Three levels of authentication are supported and you can choose from anonymous, CHAP (Challenge - Handshake Authentication Protocol) or Mutual CHAP. The host initiator names are then added manually, but if the host has already logged on to the server they'll be displayed automatically. All configured LUs are listed next and you decide what access, if any, the host is allowed to each one. Each LU is then shown as an available target at the host, so they can log on and use them as though they were locally attached drives.

For testing, we used a dual-Xeon Windows Server 2003 system with a 146GB unformatted drive for our storage pool. This was carved up into multiple LUs. From another Server 2003 system, we used Microsoft's iSCSI initiator 2 software and logged onto one LU. Raw read performance was quite impressive, as the open-source Iometer configured with two workers and 64KB sequential requests reported 88MB/sec, which is easily on a par with many appliance-based solutions.

FalconStor does have competition in this market space, although we've always found DataCore's SANmelody overly complex and costly. String Bean Software's WinTarget is a more worthy opponent, and the standard version has the advantage of additional target support for Windows 2000 and XP. However, FalconStor's iSSW is just as good value, simple to use and offers a wealth of optional features, including snapshots, mirroring, multipathing and replication.

By Dave Mitchell

SPECIFICATIONS:
Requirements Windows Server 2003, Windows Storage Server 2003. Base price includes support for 16 host connections. Options: Mirroring, Ł840; Snapshot, Ł1,684.