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Previously we looked at how to install the Microsoft iSCSI Target software on a Windows Server 2008 R2 machine and then setup the iSCSI target on the server. The next step is being able to connect a client system to the iSCSI target. For Microsoft Windows, there is a built-in iSCSI initiator software that is very simple to configure to work with iSCSI targets.

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Many users are familiar with Windows networking and browsing shared folders over a local network. For constantly accessed shared folders, a simple way of accessing the same folder immediately is to simply create a shortcut. The other, and potentially better way to regularly access information from a server is to map the shared folder as a network drive. When Windows is started, it will automatically re-connect to this network location. The network location will have a drive letter instead of a potentially long path.. Mapping network drives also tends to make saving documents and other tasks faster. Read the full story

A question that came up recently was how does one setup common applications that work well with NAS systems to write data to network storage versus solid state drives. I decided to take a few snapshots of the test network using Windows 7 libraries, iTunes, Amazon MP3 Downloader, Handbrake and FRAPS which all have highly sequential writes. Another advantage is that once data is written, the data is also read in sequential fashion making great candidates for NAS storage. Finally, for solid state drives that use compression like those based on Sandforce controllers, using network storage provides plenty of performance oftentimes better than the Sandforce SF-1200 controllers. Read the full story

This week did not have any ultra exciting announcements like Windows Home Server 2011, a Cougar Point bug or anything of that nature, so I picked a few top tidbits that I saw this week.

TrendFocus releases Q4’2010 Hard Drive Market Analysis Report

TrendFocus published its Q4 2010 report on the worldwide hard drive market titled Storage Demand Analysis System CQ4 ’10 Quarterly Update, Executive Summary.

Some interesting stats from the Executive Summary:

Approximately 167 Million HDDs shipped for 88 Exabytes of capacity and the market share numbers put Western Digital in front with Seagate close behind. Hitachi comes in third from a market share perspective. This includes not just desktop drives but also enterprise, notebook, and consumer electronics.

HDD Supplier CQ4 2010
Market Share Percentage  in Units

Trendfocus has subscriptions to regular, detailed reports if you are really into these statistics.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 hit RTM and Release Dates Announced

Windows Server 2008 R2

Word on the street from Microsoft is that Service Pack 1′s for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have hit RTM and will be released shortly. For MSDN and TechNet subscribers Service Pack 1′s will be available on 16 February 2011 and for everyone else on 22 February 2011.

The Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is basically a roll-up of updates and patches without Windows XP SP2-like upgrades. Perhaps the biggest for home server users is the new Remote Desktop client that can take advantage of RemoteFX.

On the other hand, the Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 gets some really cool new features like RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory. RemoteFX will basically allows Windows 7 virtual machines hosted in Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 to boost graphics performance if the server’s hardware allows it. Dynamic Memory is a technology that allocates memory based on a virtual machine’s need, which helps increase density because of more efficient memory allocation.

OCZ is Switching to 25nm NAND

OCZ Vertex 2

This news has been less well received. Apparently OCZ is now using newer, lower-cost 25nm NAND in their Vertex 2 line. The newer NAND is good for only 3,000 P/E cycles compared to 5,000 on older 34nm NAND. As a result, OCZ has increased overprovisioning so users will get less usable space on newer Vertex 2 drives than older ones. Initial user reports seem to also indicate that the newer 25nm NAND based Vertex 2 drives are slower than the older versions.

This really begs the question, can (or should) a company decrease usable storage space, and offer a lower performance product under the same name? Undoubtedly 25nm NAND is making OCZ’s drives less expensive to produce, but retail prices have not followed suit during the transition. Frankly, OCZ should label the 25nm parts “Vertex 2 SE” drives or something to designate the difference. Without a new designation, users researching based upon online reviews will be severely disappointed when they release the newly updated drives.

Microsoft-Nokia Partnership

This one is everywhere in the news. The quick story is that Nokia finally realized that Symbian was not going to let it challenge Apple’s iOS (not Cisco’s IOS btw) or Google’s Android in the future. The choice was either, 1. develop something new, 2. use Android, or 3. Team with Microsoft/ HP for either Windows 7 Mobile or WebOS. Nokia decided to go with Microsoft greatly expanding Windows 7 Mobile’s potential reach since Nokia has more than ten times Microsoft’s smartphone sales.

It will be interesting to see how Nokia fares in all of this. If this decision was a miss, then Nokia, one of the most dominating mobile phone companies over the last two or three decades will basically have to abandon a second platform in a short time frame. My only hope is that Microsoft puts some kind of awesome RemoteFX RDC client on a Nokia Windows 7 Mobile phone!

This video tutorial will show you how to install the Windows Home Server Connector Software without using the CD/DVD. As netbooks, usually without optical drives, flood the market, this is often the easiest way to install the connector software. For those using a motherboard such as the Supermicro X8SIL-F  or Supermicro X8ST3-F, with remote ISO image mounting at the motherboard level through IPMI 2.0.Also, for those that have lost the disk, this is much easier than searching Microsoft’s site for the download as the connector software already sits on your network!

Again, please thank my colleague new to WHS for reminding me about this video.

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A few weeks ago I posted a quick guide to a command line method of shutting down a remote PC, using Remote Desktop. Today, a much better option, ASoft’s AutoExit. AutoExit is a great add-in for a Windows Home Server that consists of a simple add-in that runs on the WHS, and a client application that works on each individual PC.

To get the current AutoExit release candidate, please see ASoft’s Website here. The price is currently great insofar as it is free.  If you haven’t checked out ASoft’s AdminiMe already, see the ServeTheHome AdminiMe review here. It may be worth picking up the free version of AdminiMe or getting the full version while snagging AutoExit.

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Here’s a quick update to the Patriot PS-100 32GB review including Raid 0 benchmarks with two drives.

Also, for comparison (to a much higher-end setup) see: Two OCZ Vertex v1.5 Firmware Raid 0 Benchmarks

Update 6 June 2010: New Patriot PS-100 32GB Firmware v3.000 benchmarks are up (single drive).

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How easy is it to use one PC to initiate a manual backup of another PC using Windows Home Server? Extremely. This guide will illustrate.

Here’s the video.

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