Yesterday, Visuality Systems released the beta of their new NQ Storage stack, which brings Microsoft's SMB protocol to OEM storage arrays. This established company has been the main supplier of SMB support in the embedded device market for over a decade, but NQ Storage brings their technology to the enterprise. Eight well-known storage array companies have already licensed the … [Read more...] about Every Device Can Speak SMB Protocol Thanks To Visuality Systems
Windows Server
Cisco’s Trojan Horse
Industry watchers like me have long wondered when Cisco will transform itself into a full-line IT infrastructure vendor. This strategy was tipped in 2009 as Cisco barged into the server market with UCS. But one leg of the stool is still missing: Storage remains the province of Cisco partners like EMC and NetApp. The Rack Endgame I recently wrote about “The Rack Endgame”, a … [Read more...] about Cisco’s Trojan Horse
SMB 3 is Going to be Huge, in both Scope and Impact
Microsoft is about to release the third major revision to their ubiquitous network storage protocol, SMB. Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V 3 will really highlight this technology, and I predict it will transform the way people think about networked storage for Windows systems. But SMB 3 is big in another way, too: there are tons of new features, and not all will be implemented … [Read more...] about SMB 3 is Going to be Huge, in both Scope and Impact
Where Is Microsoft’s FCoE Support?
Microsoft is a controversial company, generating a mix of criticism and praise everywhere they are involved. Although I'm definitely a Microsoft skeptic, I've been pleased by much of the work they have done in my field of enterprise storage. Their client-side ("initiator" to us storage folks) work has been especially notable, making me wonder why no other operating system … [Read more...] about Where Is Microsoft’s FCoE Support?
Microsoft’s Overlooked Innovation
It's fun to bash Microsoft. It's easy, too, with Apple solidly conquering the high end of the PC and mobile markets and Google's command of the Internet. But how fair are these articles skewering Microsoft, such as "Microsoft's chronic lack of innovation" published today at Techworld? I suggest that Microsoft innovates as well as, if not better than, any other massive company. … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s Overlooked Innovation