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A few months ago, I started using iSCSI storage, primarily for the value it provided in providing easy storage for hosting virtual machines when using Hyper-V in my OpsMgr / Essentials / ConfigMgr lab environments.
Clustered storage without a SAN?
My problem was this: I had a server with a half dozen drives (JBOD), but that lacked the appropriate VT technology to support Hyper-V. So I had to determine how to present this storage to my Hyper-V hosts. Since Windows 2008 has an iSCSI initiator, iSCSI was a obvious choice. But how could I quickly turn this server into an iSCSI target for hosting clustered virtual machines? What I wanted to do was simply an iSCSI based Window 2008 Hyper-V host cluster, like this:
What options do I have?
My first thought was Linux. I knew I could configure this server as an iSCSI NAS to facilitate this. Two problems with this: 1) too much work (I wanted storage NOW) and 2) I've never configured Linux as an iSCSI target. So, I took to searching the web. I found Windows Unified Data Storage Server. The problem here was that it's an OEM product, so the only download available is a time-limited download intended for OEMs. I have since tried this, and after installing the OS and after about 3 hours with messing around with blog-based setup instructions, I had some storage. This was not an ideal. So, where could I find software iSCSI that was easy to setup and inexpensive or free and within my capabilites to configure? Well, I can now say I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good. I found the answer in a previously online-only software company called RocketDivision, which produces an iSCSI solution called StarWind Server. This software can turn any Windows Server into an iSCSI target in 30 minutes. And it meets the requirements of a guy trying to setup a lab in a hurry.
- Quick and Easy Setup - WIth their Pro version, I had clustered iSCSI storage in less than 30 minutes.
- Inexpensive - They have a free version, which works great if you're not clustering. If you need cluster capable storage, you will need to Pro version of StarWInd Server, which is still relatively inexpensive at $995.
- Documentation - Their documentation library has a host of PDFs that make setup a breeze.
StarWind recently launched their US presense in December 2008, and I spoke with their US head of business development Michael Walsh, who pointed me to their new website - www.starwindsoftware.com. While I was working on a specific lab scenario, the company has several great offerings that will supported a Windows-based iSCSI in a variety of production scenarios. If you are interested in working with high availability System Center virtualization technologies, but thought it was out of reach due to lack of shared storage, StarWind is your fix. Download StarWind Server free edition or the pro version trial at http://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-server-iscsi-san