Starwind SAN 5.6 with Advanced GUI and more

Starwind SAN Software has been updated to the version 5.6

Starwind SAN is not new for ESX Virtualization readers. I’ve done quite a few articles about Starwind when I was learning to pass my VCP certification exam. In case you don’t know Stawind SAN, you can have a look at my article – Starwind iSCSI HA Connection to ESX Server – where I explain how you can configure an iSCSI connection to your shared storage (required to use vMotion) by using the Free version of Starwind SAN Software. In few clicks you’re able to turn any windows server into shared storage target for your VMware vSphere or a single ESXi host.

While it’s good to get some free software to learn and to pass VMware VCP exam, Starwind software can do much more with it’s professional versions. Mirroring, Replication, Snapshots, CDP, HA, thin provisionning …… functions which are available in enterprise versions of Starwind SAN .It’s a robust storage solution which can be installed on windows servers.  You can have a look at different version of Starwind in this table here.

Improvements and new features include:

• Event Log – Improve your storage management and tracking of system state with new event viewer
• Event notifications – Be aware of every single event by e-mail, records to Windows Event Log, records to text files
• Experimental version of online block level Deduplication plugin
• Management Console multilevel improvements

A quick quote concerning the data deduplication feature:

Data deduplication is included as an experimental module, allowing reduced disk requirements as only unique blocks of data are stored to disk. StarWind’s Data Deduplication is implemented as an inline process – since StarWind iSCSI SAN software runs on industry standard commodity servers it’s easy and cost effective to provide enough processing power in the SAN hardware to allow inline deduplication to perform well, and reducing the disk space oversizing required with post process deduplication.

Read some  more of my articles on testing the Starwind Software:

- Starwind with ISCSI SAN Software can do High Availability for you…
- Starwind active-active HA availability storage

Join a free webminar to learn more about Starwind HA (High Availability):

• Unlocking VMware Enterprise features using StarWind HA shared storage
  Wednesday, February 23, 2:00 PM GMT / 2:00 PM EST

Here are some other news from Starwind:

- StarWind Software Expands Their iSCSI SAN Storage Solutions with OEM Hardware Appliances, Inviting New Partners to Join the StarWind Integration Program.

Presented annually, the Network Computing Awards recognize the companies, products and services that have most impressed readers of the UK’s longest established computer networking publication - StarWind Software Inc. Counted Among Top Finalists for 2011 Network Computing Awards.

- StarWind Software Release an Update to their iSCSI SAN Software with an Advanced Management GUI and Data Deduplication.

As you can see the new Starwind SAN is rather cool…

There has been a press release about the new version of this software. You can read all the press release here.

Download a Trial here.

You may also like:

1. Starwind 5.0 iSCSI SAN preview video
2. Starwind active-active HA availability storage
3. Starwind iSCSI SAN – configuration RAID 1 Mirror and connection to ESX 4
4. Starwind with ISCSI SAN Software can do High Availability for you…
5. Starwind iSCSI HA Connection to ESX Server
6. Starwind innovates with Free FCoE
7. Convert any Windows server in a free SAN for your ESX/vSphere lab