NAS Gateways simplify file serving for Windows environments - Storage Management - Network Attached Storage Gateways

Computer Technology Review, Jan, 2004 by Ravi Chalaka

NAS for Windows

A NAS system built with Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 (WSS) is best suited for Windows environments. It simplifies management by taking advantage of existing Active Directory policies to centrally manage Windows Powered NAS using Group Policy, Kerberos Authentication, and Encrypted File System. Native support for Active Directory allows devices to become full members of existing domains. High-availability configurations can be deployed with support for two-node fail-over clustering using Microsoft Cluster Service. In addition, existing group policies can be used to manage access to Windows storage devices, which is not the case for NAS appliances using other operating systems than Windows.

The integrated storage services in WSS 2003 have been enhanced and expanded to include a number of new features, which help businesses control storage management costs and increase availability of data. Software services such as the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and the Virtual Disk Service (VDS) make it easier to manage and maintain disks, helping lower total cost of ownership especially in complex multi-vendor storage environments. Point-in-time imaging capability through VSS simplifies and speeds up both backups and restores. The Shadow Copies for Shared Folders functions of VSS enables endusers to restore their own files and folders without IT intervention. High availability is enabled through multi-pathing and clustering.

Virtual Disk Service (VDS) is a key development for WSS 2003 that allows it to be seamlessly deployed as a NAS Gateway to access SAN-based storage resources. The VDS feature enables IT managers to easily configure and manage storage resources--both physical and logical--assigned to Windows Storage Server 2003. Prior to Windows Storage Server 2003 it was necessary for the system administrator to configure each device using a vendor-specific storage management application, making NAS deployment complex, time consuming and costly. This function takes on added significance when using WSS with a NAS gateway appliance to connect to backend SAN storage. WSS 2003's Virtual Disk Service helps alleviate these administration complexities in a NAS backend SAN configuration by providing a single management interface for multi-vendor storage devices, enabling an administrator to manage all storage devices directly from a single management console. Query and configuration operations are common across all managed devices, regardless of whether the storage is NAS-based or SAN-based.

Suggested NAS Gateway with Integrated Windows Storage Server 2003

Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 is the ideal software platform for NAS Gateways that deliver the performance, scalability, availability and flexibility to take advantage of the feature-rich WSS 2003 environment for departmental, data center and remote sites. Just as Windows Storage Servers is a new generation of enterprise NAS software, it functions best when matched by a next-generation hardware platform designed specifically for enterprise NAS applications, including NAS-SAN consolidation. The NAS hardware platforms that meet these requirements are the MaXXan SG110 and SG210 NAS Gateways. The SG110 is a 2U rack mount NAS gateway ideal for deployment in departments or remote offices, while the MaXXan SG210 is an application blade powered by Windows Storage Server 2003 integrated into a MaXXan MXV320 director-class Intelligent Application Switch for use in data centers.