Microsoft Delivers iSCSI Support for Windows

Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of its Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) software initiator package, including the Microsoft???? iSCSI initiator service and the Microsoft iSCSI initiator software driver. Available now via Web download at no charge (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/), the software driver is for Microsoft Windows???? 2000 client and server versions, Windows XP, and the recently launched Windows Server (TM) 2003 family of products. Recently ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), iSCSI is a storage

protocol designed to transport block-level storage traffic over Internet Protocol

(IP) networks. It enables low-cost solutions that provide businesses with performance,

reliability and security technologies for their storage area networks (SANs).

According to Gartner Dataquest*, by 2006 iSCSI will emerge to connect nearly 1.5

million servers to SANs — more than any competing technology.

Microsoft is playing an important role in bringing the storage vendor community

  together to make iSCSI-based applications and storage devices a reality for

  customers. More than 85 independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent

  hardware vendors (IHVs) are developing Windows-based applications and storage

  hardware products for iSCSI. To ensure technology interoperability and quality

  assurance for its customers, Microsoft has created an iSCSI Designed for Windows

  Logo Program to enable IHVs to qualify their Windows-targeted iSCSI hardware

  components for optimal reliability and interoperability with Microsoft Windows

  products.


  Download

  Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator version 1.0