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Storage virtualization and iSCSI storage specialist StarWind Software announced the release of StarWind 5.4, an iSCSI SAN software platform, which is designed to turn an industry-standard x86 or x64 Windows server into a fault-tolerant storage device that will be continuously available even in the event of failure. Improved functionality includes caching and autosync functionality and Write-Through with Write-Back modes support.
In addition, when the high availability node becomes active, it is synchronized and binged online automatically if autosync option has been set. The maximum device size limit of 2TB has been removed, general performance has been improved, and an allow rule for StarWind service to be added to the Windows firewall on product install. Moreover, the company said previous versions of StarWind could be updated by installing a new build over existing installation, which means that any new update can be completed quickly and with restart.
“We are very pleased to constantly improve our StarWind solution by adding new functionality, increasing performance, and simplifying the end user experience” said Artem Berman, CEO of StarWind. “With this new release, we are making our product even better, presenting enterprise-class high availability storage features at SMB price.”
StarWind iSCSI SAN key features include synchronous mirroring with automatic failover, which mirrors data in real time across a storage cluster, ensuring that storage is continuously available in the event of failure, as well as failback with fast synchronization, which re-synchronizes data back to the original storage node and restores it to a previous live state before failure.
Other features include remote replication across a WAN, which replicates data to a remote location, allowing multisite disaster recovery in the event of a disaster at the primary site, CDP and snapshots, which captures instant, point-in-time volume images, allowing a user to rollback and recover an entire volume or individual files and folders, server clustering that supports Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, VMware ESX and vSphere 4.0 and other applications and a redesigned user interface: designed to allow IT professionals to easily manage all storage from a central management console built on the same tree structure used in Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware vSphere.