If you’ve been following this blog, then you already know that Thecus is now shipping 2-bay, 4-bay, and 5-bay NAS devices running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials. This is a new edition of Windows Storage Server that we created to enable affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-connected storage for small businesses and small office/home office (SOHO) environments. We recently interviewed John Tsai, Vice President of Marketing at Thecus, about the company’s new offerings and the reasons behind them:

       
       John Tsai

What’s your role at Thecus, where do you fit within the organization, and what types of products/customers do you focus on?

As V.P. of Marketing at Thecus, I’m responsible for marketing and product management across all product lines. I’m also responsible for our customer service operations, which helps me stay current on customer needs and market trends. Our offerings include a range of network-attached storage, direct-attached storage, and network video recorders for all market segments—from two-bay desktop devices designed for SMB and SOHO markets to 16-bay rack-mount devices designed for the enterprise.

Why did you add an offering based on Windows Storage Server Essentials to your product portfolio?

We’re always looking for ways to provide greater value to our customers, most of which don’t have a lot of technical expertise. In the past, with our Linux-based offerings, customers had to install a utility on their PCs to discover the device, know what an IP address was, understand router settings, and so on. With Windows Storage Server Essentials, the setup process is a lot more simple and intuitive. In many ways, it’s just like buying a new laptop: you can basically turn on the device, run an intuitive wizard that handles setup for you, and you’re done. When you combine this improved ease-of-use with an enterprise-class feature set, built-in cloud connectivity, and price-parity with similarly configured Linux-based devices, it becomes clear how Windows Storage Server Essentials enables us to deliver greater customer value.

What makes your new NAS appliances based on Windows Storage Server Essentials special or different?

First and foremost, as the first NAS vendor to offer devices based on Windows Storage Server Essentials, we’re able to offer unmatched levels of value and ease-of-use across all three new models. Beyond that, we include several hardware features that make our products even more useful—including dual LAN ports, an embedded SSD or solid-state hybrid drive, one or more USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port for use in media-server scenarios. Our 2-bay W2000 also includes a built-in SD/SDHC/MMC card reader, and our 5-bay W5000 has an interactive LCD status display. The W5000 even includes an embedded 500 GB solid-state hybrid drive that can be used for both booting and data storage, enabling customers to start using the device out-of-the-box—without buying and installing a traditional hard disk drive.

Which features in Windows Storage Server Essentials are you particularly excited about—and why?

I think the greatest feature of Windows Storage Server Essentials is its ease-of-use for entry level users. Thanks to its intuitive dashboard, users can add disks without ever opening Disk Management, apply data redundancy without knowing anything about RAID-1 or RAID-5, and so on. Of course, because it’s based on Windows Server storage technologies, you also get advanced features such as Data Deduplication—which, until a year or two ago, was only available on high-end devices costing much, much more. Windows Storage Server Essentials enables us to deliver these and many other enterprise-class storage features at the same price as Linux-based devices, which can’t offer the same functionality. Integration with optional cloud services such as Azure Backup and Office 365 is built-in and can be turned-on at any time, providing a path to even greater customer choice and value.  

How have customers reacted to your new offerings? Any pleasant surprises or customer anecdotes?

Customer feedback so far has been quite positive. Many of our customers previously had a Linux-based NAS, and are finding our new devices based on Windows Storage Server Essentials a lot easier to use. For example, with a Linux-based NAS, it could take someone a day or two to get a device up and running properly, with time spent looking up how to do things or on the phone with our service center. With Windows Storage Server Essentials, they just need to connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, run the setup wizard, and they’re done—in a very short time. It used to be that, with Linux, about 50 percent of our support calls were setup-related issues. Now, with Windows Storage Server Essentials, most of the support calls are about how to use its advanced features to get even more out of the device—not about how to simply get it up and running.

What can we expect from Thecus in the future? Can you tell us anything about how Windows Storage Server Essentials fits into your strategy and product roadmap?

We’re already looking at adding new value-added software utilities, which, of course, are easy to develop because they’ll run on Windows. Beyond that, we’re listening closely to initial customer feedback. For example, we recently added the option to upgrade the amount of RAM in their systems to 4 gigabytes.  This will allow users to get even more out of their Thecus NAS devices, all while maintaining optimal performance.

What are the applications for your new products based on Windows Storage Server Essentials?

Because they’re based on Windows Server, the possibilities are practically endless. If all you need is network-attached storage, you get that out-of-the-box. But you also get so much more—including all the networking and infrastructure services needed to setup a robust small business or SOHO network; centralized client backup and restore; full server backup; and remote access and identity management services.

<end of interview>

My thanks to John for sharing his perspective on Windows Storage Server Essentials—and for being such a strong Microsoft partner. If you’re interested in learning more about Thecus’s new offerings, you’ll find a great starting point here. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out this great review of Thecus’s new W2000 2-bay NAS running Windows Storage Server Essentials.

Well, that’s it for now….

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

Over the past few months, I’ve made some noise about Thecus’s new line of NAS appliances running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials. As I stated, Thecus is the first OEM to deliver new NAS appliances based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, which I’m excited about for several reasons. It delivers:

• An unmatched, enterprise-class feature set built using Windows Server 2012 R2 platform technologies.

• A simplified management experience designed for people without any major IT skills.

• Painless, optional integration with cloud-based services from Microsoft and others.

• Price points that make these new NAS devices just as affordable as their Linux counterparts.

Thecus’s new NAS appliances include the 2-bay W2000, the 4-bay W4000, and the 5-bay W5000. As pleased as I was to tell you about their initial availability, I’m even happier to point out this recent review of the W2000 by PC Perspectives, which points out many of the same features and benefits that I personally find so compelling.

Here are front and rear shots of the W2000. The review has several more pics.

Here are just a few of the high points from the review, as I see them:

• “It’s really quite remarkable what Thecus is doing in partnership with Microsoft here in terms of value, as this entry 2-bay unit costs just $350.”

• “We are talking about a full-scale server here, replete with Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials goodness.”

• “Not only are you getting a 2-bay NAS with underlying hardware powerful enough to run a Server OS, but you’re getting a full version of that OS preinstalled with a valid Microsoft COA. What’s the catch? Really, for a home or small office user, nothing.”

• “Essentially the W2000 has the processing power of a nettop or mini desktop, but I had to wonder if the solution that didn’t provide a great Windows 8.1 experience with a mini-PC would fare much better with an instance of Server 2012 R2. The answer quickly became obvious as I used the W2000, which performed far better than I might have suspected from the modest specs.”

• “As many uses as some NAS units have, the primary function is still network sharing of the drives installed. This is handled extremely well with the W2000 and Windows Server Essentials, once a small utility is downloaded and installed on your system.”

• “Throughput was exactly what I expected from the W2000, matching the speed of any other NAS on my network.”

• “Even though it would be incredibly easy to set up and use the W2000 for anyone with working knowledge of Windows Server 2012, such experience isn’t really needed to use this product.”

• “Bottom line, to be able to manage a small home or office environment’s users and shared resources, or build a home network with the power of a Server instance - and do any of this for $350 plus the cost of a couple of hard drives - is pretty incredible!”

I also like how the review summarizes the device’s strengths…

• Well executed hardware design

• Quality components

• Small footprint

• Reliable operation

• The power of a full Server experience

• $350 price includes Windows Storage Server license

… and weaknesses:

• None at this price!

Given such a strong review, it’s no wonder that PC Perspectives gave the W2000 its Editor’s Choice award! If I’ve perked your interest in the 2-bay Thecus W2000, you can learn more about it here. Keep in mind that you can also choose from a 4-bay W4000 model and a 5-bay W5000 model.

If you want to read my previous blogs on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials and Thecus’s new NAS appliances, you’ll find them here:

• Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials: Enabling a Full-Featured, Affordable NAS for Small Businesses and SOHO Environments

• Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials: A Closer Look

• A Closer Look at Thecus’s New Offerings Based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials

In our next blog, we’ll have a discussion with a VP at Thecus about the new offerings. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

Over the past few weeks, I’ve published two blogs (here and here) on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, a new edition of Windows Storage Server that we created to enable affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-connected NAS appliances for small businesses and small office/home office (SOHO) environments. Thecus is the first OEM to deliver new NAS appliances based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, and this post takes a closer look at those new offerings.

Thecus’s line of new NAS appliances running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials include the 2-bay W2000, the 4-bay W4000, and the 5-bay W5000. All are powered by Intel Atom dual-core processors and have 2GB of DDR3 RAM, dual LAN ports, and an embedded SSD or solid-state hybrid drive (SSHD) boot drive, which is preloaded with the Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials operating system. All three models also have an HDMI port, one or more USB 3.0 ports, and two or more USB 2.0 ports. The W2000 even includes a built-in SD/SDHC/MMC card reader!

The following table captures the major differences between the three models:

All three models are now available through the company’s retail distribution partners. You can get a diskless W2000/W4000/W5000 for about $350/$450/$550, respectively.

Easy-to-Deploy

With Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials preinstalled on an embedded SSD or SSHD, these toaster-sized powerhouses are just as easy-to-deploy as they are affordable. In a nutshell, the process typically consists of the following steps:

1. Insert data drives – A HDD/SDD compatibility list for all three models can be found here.

2. Initial power-up – When you turn on the unit for the first time, the Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard will run and guide you through the process of specifying a server name, generating a domain name, and specifying a user name and password for your new domain’s administrator account. (This is the account you’ll use to add/delete users, assign/revoke permissions, and make other changes.)

3. Setup anywhere access (optional) – A great thing about Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials is that it can let you access your data from almost anywhere, with almost any device, as long as you have an Internet connection. You’ll find a link to launch the wizard for setting this up on the “Home” tab of the management console, which is designed for nontechnical types.

4. Configure Windows Azure Backup (optional) – This is one of the coolest features! You can choose to sign up for a Microsoft Azure Backup subscription and backup your server to the cloud, as a means to help protect against catastrophes such as a fire, water damage, or theft of the NAS. Again, a simple wizard will guide you through the process of getting everything setup, selecting the folders you want backed-up, and deciding when you want your backups to run. (Make sure to copy the backup passphrase file to a USB stick and keep it safe, as the key to your own personal online backup vault.)

5. Connect to Microsoft Office 365 (optional) – This is my other favorite feature. It integrates your server with Microsoft Office 365—an online subscription service that provides email, shared calendars, online document creation and editing, instant messaging, web conferencing, a public-facing website, and internal team collaboration sites. It also enables management of users across both environments in a single place, and users will benefit from single sign-on across both environments.

For steps 5 and 6, you don’t need to have subscriptions to Azure Backup or Office 365 before getting started; you can purchase them from within their respective setup wizards. And for Office 365, as long as you have enough unallocated user licenses left on your subscription, any new user you add can be provisioned automatically.

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials: Where Business Meets Simplicity

In closing, I’d like to reiterate that we designed for small businesses and SOHO environments (with 1 to 50 users/devices) that want a business-grade, feature-rich, cloud-ready NAS at an affordable price—including robust, shared local storage and optional integration with Office 365 and Azure Backup. So if you’re in the market for your first server, you may want to check out these nifty new offerings from Thecus.

Here are some other resources that you may find useful:

• A short video introducing Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials can be found here

• Another short video that shows the deployment process described above can be found here.

• More information on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials can be found here.

• My first two blog articles on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials can be found here and here.

That’s it for now!

Live long and prosper,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

In my last post, I provided an introduction to Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials—and recognized Thecus as the first OEM to bring new NAS appliances based on it to market. In this post, I’ll take a closer look at Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, which we created to enable affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-connected NAS appliances for small businesses and small office/home office (SOHO) environments.

Who Should Consider It?

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is designed for small businesses and SOHO environments (with 1 to 50 users/devices) that want a business-grade, feature-rich, cloud-ready NAS at an affordable price. Devices powered by Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials enable these organizations to deploy robust, shared storage on their local networks, and to optionally integrate that local environment with cloud-based services such as Microsoft Office 365 and Windows Azure. Users can continue to work in ways that are already familiar to them, with easy access to shared storage from virtually any location and any device, and small businesses and SOHO environments can easily take advantage of the growing set of offerings available in the cloud.

A short video on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials can be found here.

The Hardware

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is only available through hardware OEMs, who license it for pre-installation on ready-to-deploy NAS appliances. You can expect these devices to have an Intel Atom-class or equivalent processor, 2-4 GB of RAM, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, one or more USB 3.0 connectors, 2-8 drive bays, and a storage controller that supports Storage Spaces.

Manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) for a 2-bay diskless model is expected to be about $350, and MSRP for a 4-bay model populated with two disks is expected to be about $650. These price points are certainly attractive—on par with similar, Linux-based NAS appliances solutions that deliver significantly less value.

The Software

Like Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard and Workgroup editions, Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is based on Windows Server 2012 R2. In fact, when it comes to functionality, you get key some features that aren’t included in these first two editions. The following table provides a brief comparison of the three editions of Windows Storage Server 2012 R2:

So what does all this mean to the nontechnical small business/SOHO customer? In terms of key functionality, it means that they get the following:

• All of the networking and infrastructure services needed to setup a robust small business or SOHO network—including the ability to either setup an Active Directory domain or tie into to an existing one.

• Comprehensive file and print services—including advanced features such as Data Deduplication (to enable storing more data in less disk space); BitLocker Drive Encryption (to help protect that stored data from prying eyes); and Storage Spaces (for grouping multiple hard drives together into a single pool and protecting against the failure of a disk in that pool through parity or mirroring).

• Integrated, centralized client backup and restore functionality to help protect the data on local PCs and devices—including integration with the File History feature in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, which enables users to easily restore to a previous version of a file or restore a deleted file.

• Full server backup—including the ability to restore a single file, restore a folder, or to perform a full “bare metal” recovery on the server.

• Remote access and identity management services—so that authorized users can get to their data from almost anywhere on any device, while at the same time helping to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the data they shouldn’t be able to see (such as payroll records).

• The Windows Server Essentials Experience—an intuitive management interface designed to help nontechnical users deploy the appliance quickly, easily, and correctly; manage it with only minimal IT skills; and maximize data security. The Essentials Experience also makes it easy to setup and manage backups and to add, remove, and manage users.

Pre-Configured Connectivity With The Cloud

While Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is built for on-premises deployment, it’s also built to let small businesses and SOHO users easily take advantage of cloud services hosted by Microsoft, including Azure Backup and Microsoft Office 365. This optional integration is enabled through the Essentials Experience, which makes provides a simple, intuitive interface for integrating with Azure Backup and Office 365.

In case you’re not familiar with these services, here’s a quick look at each one:

• Azure Backup. Azure Backup is a simple and reliable data protection solution that enables customers to back up their on-premises data to the cloud. Through built-in integration with Azure Backup, Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials makes it easy to turn on “offsite backups” to help protect against catastrophes such as a fire, water damage, or theft of the NAS. Backups are encrypted before transmission to Azure Backup and, after the initial backup is completed, only changes to the data on the NAS are transmitted to help minimize backup times and conserve bandwidth.

• Office 365. Office 365 is an online subscription service that provides email, shared calendars, online document creation and editing, instant messaging, web conferencing, a public-facing website, and internal team collaboration sites—all accessible from virtually anywhere, on nearly any device. Through out-of-the-box, ready-to-use integration with Office 365, Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials enables management of user accounts across both environments in a single place while providing users with single sign-on across both environments.

Of course, both Office 365 and Azure Backup are hosted in Microsoft’s state-of-the-art datacenters and deliver guaranteed levels of availability.

Where to Get One

Thecus is already shipping a line of NAS appliances running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials. These include a 2-bay W2000, a 4-bay W4000, and a 5-bay W5000, all of which are now starting to become available through the company’s distribution partners.

As other OEMs announce or begin shipping similar solutions based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, I’ll be sure give you a heads up on this blog. Similarly, stay tuned for my own reviews of these powerful new NAS appliances as they become available.

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

You may have seen Thecus’s recent press release about becoming the first Microsoft OEM partner to offer network attached storage (NAS) solutions based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials. This is a brand-new edition of Windows Storage Server, which we created to enable affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-connected NAS appliances for small businesses and small office/home office (SOHO) environments. Thecus has been a leading storage OEM for years, so it’s no surprise that they were the first to embrace Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials as a means of delivering unprecedented value to this segment of the market.

If you’re not familiar with what a NAS is and how it works, in simple terms, you can think of it as centralized file storage that’s attached to your home or office network for easy, shared access by multiple PCs and other devices. Sounds like a file server, huh? You’re right, for the most part. The major difference is that a traditional file server is usually a general-purpose server that’s setup for sharing files, whereas NAS devices are typically prebuilt, ready-to-deploy appliances that are designed from the ground up for file sharing.

The past few years have seen a proliferation of toaster-size NAS appliances, which in many ways are more suitable than a traditional file server for small business/SOHO environments. They’re more affordable, require less space, consume less power, generate less heat, and have modern Intel Atom processors that can usually handle the workload. However, the vast majority of these devices are based on Linux, which often falls short when it comes to ease-of-deployment, ease-of-use, and ease-of-integration with the mix of Windows-based PCs, Macs, smartphones, printers, and other devices within the typical small business/SOHO environment.

Several NAS OEMs have started to address these shortcomings by offering Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard or Workgroup as an alternative to Linux on their Atom-powered solutions. However, these Windows-powered devices have been disadvantaged by a price premium over similar models that are based on “free” Linux. Not only was the target customer base for these devices forced to trade-off functionality for price, but the decision process was further complicated by the question, “What’s all this talk about ‘the cloud’, how does it figure into our business, and should we take that direction instead.”

This is where Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials delivers the best of all worlds:

• An unmatched, enterprise-class feature set built using Windows Server 2012 R2 platform technologies.

• A simplified management experience designed for people without any major IT skills.

• Painless, optional integration with cloud-based services from Microsoft and others.

• Price points that make these new NAS devices just as affordable as their Linux counterparts.

Obviously, the end result of all this is greater value for the customer, which is why we think that Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials will be a huge hit with small business/SOHO customers who need a business-grade, feature-rich, cloud-ready NAS at an affordable price!

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials has already received an  Intel Technology Innovation Accelerated (TIA) Award at Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2014, where it was recognized for “innovation in the integration of suites of hardware, software, services and support that creates new capabilities for all facets in people’s lives – focusing on productivity, information and entertainment.” As Intel put it in the press release, Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials enables small organizations to “focus on their core business instead of managing IT and still have access to file storage on any device, protect critical data and make cloud integration possible.”

So Where Can I Buy One?

Thecus is the first OEM to deliver new NAS appliances running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials. These include a 2-bay W2000, a 4-bay W4000, and a 5-bay W5000, all of which are just now becoming available through the company’s distribution partners. Considering all that you can get for your money (a diskless 2-bay W2000 runs about $350 MSRP), I think it’s fair to say that Thecus’s new NAS appliances based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials are a screaming good value! I’ll be getting a new Thecus NAS this week and I’ll post a review on it as soon as possible.

As additional OEMs announce solutions based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, I’ll be sure to give you a heads-up on this blog! In the meantime, you may want to check out this short video on the new Essentials edition. Also, stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll take a closer look at these devices from three perspectives: the hardware, the software, and connectivity with the cloud.

Cheers,

Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

Inside this toaster-sized cube is a really capable NAS server, domain controller, remote access gateway, streaming media player and it makes server administration and file-sharing a snap. The server runs Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, which has all the cool small-business and home-server features that existed in previous releases, like a simple UI dashboard for management tasks and it has the latest storage features found in Windows Server, including SMB 3, iSCSI target, NFS, DFS, Quotas, file-screens, file classification, storage spaces, RDMA, and much more.

For me, the most compelling features of this server are the powerful components and the redundant options that keep the server running. This single server comes with 2 power supplies – which I think is a brilliant addition -- if one of the A/C adapters blows up, or your breaker trips on one electrical circuit, the server can continue running. The data on the hard disks is protected with redundancy using Storage Spaces and it can be setup in dual or triple-mirrored configurations to ensure zero data loss even in the event of a 2-drive failure.

Inside the box are some pretty nice components:

• XEON E3-1265LV2 QUAD core* processor – this is more power than most boxes this size that use Atom processors or even smaller SOCs.
• The DS6100 I played with had 16GB of ECC memory and 4x4TB WD datacenter-class drives for a whopping 16TB inside.
• Up to 16GB ECC memory
• Can use RAID or built-in Storage Spaces
• Dual DC-in power supply ports
• Two dedicated 2.5” boot drives with the operating system installed, preconfigured in RAID-1
• Dual GbE ports that can be easily teamed together, and it can leverage the SMB multichannel feature that will automatically balance file transfers across all the network adapters in the system. I has able to easily saturate both ports and got 200Mb per second consistently over the network. That is a pretty healthy transfer rate and it met my needs pretty well.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials:

• Simple IT-pro dashboard lets you configure the most common server settings, create new users and reset their passwords with ease.
• Centralized backup for up to 50 PC/Mac users via Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
• Built in domain controller and full support for Active Directory services.
• Built-in remote-access gateway. Give your entire organization access to their files from anywhere on the net.
• Built-in integration with Azure Backup and Office 365

There are a couple other reviews online, the general consensus is very positive:

- Review: Western Digital WD Sentinel DS6100 – “One of the first small business servers to ship with Microsoft's new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, the WD Sentinel DS6100 offers high-end performance in a sleek and compact package. For those that need the power, the Sentinel offers strong performance and simplicity in spades.”

- Small Business Server Review: WD Sentinel DS6100 – “Virtually every small business would benefit from having a server, but countless small firms—say, those with one up to a couple dozen employees—do without one under the misguided impression that the benefits don’t justify the cost and effort it takes to buy, run, and maintain a server. If that describes your company, you may want to take a close look at WD’s new Sentinel DS6100 small business server , which packs a full-featured Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials operating system and gobs of redundant storage into a powerful and moderately-priced box…”

While this blog is focused on Windows Storage Server, I really think that this hardware and the Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Operating System makes for a fantastic NAS device -- you get all the cool remote-access, PC backup, media streaming and management features that were originally developed in Windows Home Server and you get a plethora of the Windows Server features found in the high-end versions.

Well done WD!

Cheers,
Scott Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

Back in September 2013, I blogged about how Broadberry (a long-time Windows Storage Server partner) and Mirasys—a video surveillance solution provider—were partnering to use Windows Storage Server 2012 as the storage component of a complete video surveillance solution. In this post, I’d like to share the perspective of Colin Broadberry, Managing Partner of Broadberry Data Systems.

Colin had some great insights on these two related Windows Storage Server topics:

• Broadberry’s experience selling Windows Storage Server to date, including how Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 is being received by customers.
  
• Broadberry’s new YellowVision line of IP video surveillance solutions, of which the video storage servers run Windows Storage Server 2012 R2.

Here are pics of a YellowVision video recording server and viewing station.

But that’s enough from me. Following are the answers to some questions we recently asked Colin:

What types of customers does Broadberry focus on?

We try to keep our focus very wide, as we recognize that servers and storage now play a role in every aspect of our lives—from ISPs and cloud hosting to IP video surveillance, education, financial, TV and media, and so on. Even though those sectors have very different businesses, their storage requirements are actually very similar in that they all need fast, reliable, cost-effective, easy-to-manage storage.

What made you focus on the video storage market?

The market for IP surveillance storage has continued to grow quite rapidly over the past few years, with HD cameras becoming the norm. Video storage needs are growing just as fast, with performance and high availability being key requirements. For example, when we worked with Mirasys to deliver a video storage solution for a large hotel last year, that solution had to support more than 500 high-resolution cameras, with all video retained and readily accessible for 90 days—resulting in a required 500 terabytes of storage capacity.

What exactly does Broadberry’s new YellowVision line include?

YellowVision is our new brand of dedicated video surveillance storage and viewing appliances. At a high level, the line consists of four components:

• YellowVision COBRA Video Recording Servers, which are powered by Intel Xeon processors and are tuned for enterprise IP video surveillance storage. They’re capable of supporting all major brands of IP video management software, including offerings from Mirasys, Genetec, Milestone, and Axis.
  
• YellowVision PYTHON Video Storage Servers, which are designed to be used in conjunction with 3rd Party Network Video Recorders and COBRA Video Recording Servers to provide expanded storage, supporting high data rates and RAID level reliability.
  
• YellowVision ADDER Storage Expansion Units, which are JBOD expansion arrays that can easily be daisy-chained to one of our storage servers.
  
• YellowVision VIPER Viewing Stations, which are based on our workstation offerings and are also tuned for video surveillance applications.
  

Why did you base the YellowVision PYTHON storage servers on Windows Storage Server?

Value-for-money has always been an advantage of doing business with Broadberry, and Windows Storage Server enables us to continue delivering this benefit in the video surveillance storage space. Licensing is a great example; Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard supports an unlimited amount of data and doesn’t require any client access licenses, allowing customers to save a good deal of money. Windows Storage Server also facilitates ease-of-deployment, ease-of-management, and ease-of integration with existing IT infrastructures, all of which add to the value that we can provide to customers.

Why should someone buy from Broadberry?

There are several reasons why people buy from us:

• Our YellowVision and other products can be custom-configured, which allows customers to fine tune each system to their exact needs, including the largest range of drives and networking options available.
  
• Our open platform means that customers can add more drives from any manufacturer or supplier, providing peace-of-mind that they won’t need to deal with vendor lock-in.
  
• We’ve been selling Windows Storage Server for close to a decade and know how to help customers get the most from it. For example, our SSD caching options can improve system performance by more than 300 percent. We also offer rear-mounted, hot-swap, mirrored SSD drives for the OS, which improves overall system performance without taking up valuable data-storage drive bays.
  
• Our CyberStore WSS model line upon which YellowVision storage appliances are based was voted “Best Storage Appliance” for the last 3 years by PC PRO Magazine, so customers can be confident that the product is as good as it sounds.

How have your Windows Storage Server offerings been received by customers?

Sales of our CyberStore WSS range based on Windows Storage Server been stronger than expected, especially since all the great new features released in Windows Storage Server 2012. We’re winning more and more deals for larger-capacity, higher-end systems, to the point that we’re taking a good deal of business away from the traditional SAN market. For example:

• One of our Financial Trading customers wanted a super-fast, 20-terabyte storage server with at least 200,000 IOPS, and was quoted £80,000 ($130K) from a Fortune-100 server OEM. We sold that customer a Windows Storage Server solution that used enterprise-class SSDs for caching for £25,000 ($40K), and the customer found that it delivered 300,000 IOPS. One month later, that same customer bought three more systems!
  
• A major university wanted to reduce the amount of money it was spending on new storage capacity. Two weeks after they deployed one of our systems running Windows Storage Server, they had used its Data Deduplication feature to reduce the amount of disk space being used by 70 percent. Needless to say, they were delighted with the results. We do a good deal of business in the education sector, and are seeing more and more customers use Data Deduplication to save on storage costs.

What have been some other strong selling points?

There are several reasons why customers are consistently choosing Windows Storage Server over traditional SAN solutions:

• Ease of integration with existing Windows-based IT infrastructures has definitely helped us close many deals; Windows Storage Server can be managed by using the familiar Server Manager interface, and it integrates seamlessly with existing Active Directory user permissions.
  
• Speed-of-deployment has been another strong selling point… people love how Windows Storage Server is preinstalled and preconfigured prior to shipment, so that it can be deployed in as little as a few minutes.
  
• Configuration is just as quick and easy; for example, setting-up Data Deduplication is as easy as selecting a volume and ticking a box. You can’t get much easier than that.
  

So seeing a trend away from the classic SAN?

Most definitely. Customers today are demanding more than just high availability, high performance, and strong scalability. They also want higher-level features such Work Folders, data deduplication, storage tiering, and more—all of which enable greater value delivery and are provided by Windows Storage Server out-of-the-box, at no added cost. With traditional SANs, if they offer similar features, you’ll pay a lot extra to get them.

What can we expect from Broadberry in the future?

We’re really excited about the future of our CyberStore WSS range. In April 2014, we’ll be launching new high-availability solutions, including some Cluster-in-a-Box offerings. And we’ll be the first company in the world that enables you to fully configure complete high-availability solutions online. Of course, we’re still in the process of rolling out our YellowVision product line, which you can find at http://www.yellowvision.co.uk.

<end of interview>

My thanks to Colin for sharing his perspective on Windows Storage Server—and for being such a strong Windows Storage Server partner for the past decade. If you’re interested in learning more about Broadberry Data Systems, you can check out the company’s website at http://www.broadberry.co.uk. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out this great review of Broadberry’s CyberStore 424S storage appliance running Windows Storage Server 2012 R2.

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

One of the most innovative new features in Windows Server 2012 R2 is Work Folders, which gives users access to files on a company file server over the Internet or a corporate LAN or WAN while allowing organizations to maintain control over that data. Here’s an overview:

• It works by syncing the data between end-user devices and the file server, which means that IT admins can use all the same familiar file server management tools to manage and secure that data.
  
• From a technical perspective, there are two parts to Work Folders: on the server, it’s a sub-role under File and Storage Services that can be enabled on any file server running Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Storage Server 2012 R2.
  
• On user devices, the Work Folders “client” is what connects to the server and handles synchronization of the files in the background, without the user needing to do anything else. All the user needs to think about are his or her local files.

Upon the initial release of Windows Server 2012 R2, Work Folders only supported Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, which had support for Work Folders (i.e., the Work Folders “client”) built-in.

Now the story gets even better! The Hybrid Storage Services team released a Work Folders client for Windows 7 Enterprise, Professional and Ultimate editions. Now your Windows 7 users can benefit from Work Folders and enjoy seamless access to their work data.

The Journey

After Work Folders was announced in May of 2013, the overwhelming feedback we received was that we absolutely had to enable support for Windows 7, which has been deployed en-masse by corporate IT for the last several years. We assembled a Windows 7 Work Folders team right after the release of Windows Server 2012 R2 and they got right to work, overcoming multiple technical hurdles such as limited File Explorer integration. They designed and delivered a great experience that remains as close to Windows 8.1 as possible.  It’s a great feeling to ship software at Microsoft and the Windows 7 Work Folders team did a great job, shipping one day ahead of schedule!

Where to Get It

The new release supports 17 languages and can be downloaded here:
For 64-bit (X64) Windows 7:   http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42558
For 32-bit (X86) Windows 7:   http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42559

Blogs and Links

If you’re interested in learning more about Work Folders, here are some great resources:

• Jian Yan, from the Work Folders team, posted this entry on the File Cabinet blog highlighting the release and the new functionality.
• Roiy Zysman posted a great list of Work Folders resources in this blog.
• Nir Ben Zvi introduced Work Folders on Windows Server 2012 R2.
• See this Q&A With Fabian Uhse, Program Manager for Work Folders in Windows Server 2012 R2
• Also, check out these posts about how to setup a Work Folders test lab, certificate management, and tips on running Work Folders on Windows Failover Clusters.
• Using Work Folders with IIS websites or the Windows Server Essentials Role (Resolving Port Conflicts)

I’m excited to see this new functionality put to use by Microsoft customers, and I can’t wait to hear about your experiences with Work Folders on Windows 7.  Give it a try! 

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy

Violin Memory today announced the Violin Windows Flash Array (WFA)—an all-flash, high-performance storage appliance powered by Windows Storage Server 2012 R2.

Here are the highlights:

• The WFA is the result of a joint development effort between Violin and Microsoft, which spent more than 18 months working together on software optimizations to get the most out of the array’s unique performance profile.
   
• It takes advantage of SMB Direct (SMB 3.0 over RDMA) and Violin’s flash memory optimization algorithms to deliver an ideal combination of low latency, high IOPS, and low CPU use.
   
• Performance provided by the WFA makes it an ideal storage platform for major enterprise workloads, including Microsoft SQL Server, Hyper-V virtualization, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).

If you’re not already coveting a Windows Flash Array for your own IT infrastructure, let me put things another way: This incredibly powerful storage appliance delivers 70 terabytes (TB) raw storage capacity, nominal latencies of less than 500-microseconds, and more than 750,000 4K IOPS—all in a 3U, dual-node cluster that draws about 1500 watts and can be deployed in as little as 30 minutes, without an advanced degree in storage networking!

Now that I’ve covered the highlights, let’s take a deeper look at the WFA’s architecture, performance under key workloads, and other enterprise-ready attributes.

The Hardware

The Windows Flash Array is a 3U rack-mount storage appliance. Front and rear views (these are preliminary; the bezel may change slightly) are shown below:

Here’s a shot that shows the internal components of the Windows Flash Array, within the context of a basic deployment diagram.

Three of these components warrant further discussion:

• Dual storage controllers/compute nodes (Violin calls them “memory gateways”)
   
• A Violin Flash Array consisting of 60 Violin Intelligent Memory Modules (VIMMs), plus an additional 4 VIMMs as hot spares
   
• Four dual-port RDMA-enabled network controllers, with your choice of either 10 GbE or Infiniband.

Now let’s take a closer look at each component—and how it plays into the incredible performance provided by the WFA.

Dual Storage Controller/Compute Nodes

Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 runs on the Windows Flash Array’s dual storage controllers/compute nodes, which Violin calls “memory gateways” in its documentation. Each compute node has:

• Two Intel Xeon E5-2448L processors, each with 8 cores and a 20MB L3 cache.
   
• 24GB of memory (upgradeable to 48GB per compute node).

Combined with the low CPU utilization enabled by SMB Direct (more on this below), Violin’s choice of substantial 8-core Xeon processors provides significant processing power to be utilized by Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 features such as Data Deduplication (more on this below too).

Violin Flash Array

The WFA is based on Violin’s Flash Array 6000 series all flash storage array, which features Toshiba flash memory, global hot spares, and no single point of failure. In turn, the Flash Array 6000 (and thus the WFA) is based on Violin’s Flash Memory Fabric architecture—an all-silicon approach that uses patented flash optimization algorithms implemented in hardware, operating at line rate.

• At the system’s core lies a resilient, highly available deep mesh of thousands of flash dies that work in concert to continuously optimize performance, latency, and longevity.
  
• Violin Intelligent Memory Modules (VIMM) organize this mesh of individual dies into intelligent flash management units, providing a hardware-based Flash Translation Layer with garbage collection, wear leveling, and error/fault management.
   
• VIMMs are integrated into the patented Violin Switched Memory (vXM) architecture, which is designed from the ground-up for power efficiency and performance.
  
• Finally, VIMMs and the vXM layer work in conjunction with vRAID, Violin’s patented hardware-based RAID algorithm specifically designed to increase reliability and reduce latency.
  
• Collectively, these deeply integrated layers—the mesh of flash dies organized into VIMMs integrated with vXM and overlain by vRAID—make up the Violin Flash Memory Fabric.
  
  

RDMA-Enabled Network Controllers

Violin made sure that the Windows Flash Array isn’t constrained by network bandwidth. Network I/O is provided by eight high-speed network ports, for which you have two options:

• 4x Chelsio T-520CR Dual-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters
   
• 4x Mellanox ConnectX-3 Dual-Port VPI adapters (MCX354A-FCBT), which support up to 56Gb/s Infiniband or 40/56 Gigabit Ethernet per port

Both adapters support Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA), which the WFA takes advantage of through SMB Direct—also known as SMB 3.0 over RDMA. With SMB Direct, which operates at PCI-E speeds, data stored remotely on the WFA can be read directly into the memory of an application server accessing the array. This reduces processor load by up to 30 percent, enabling the app server’s processor(s) to focus on their application workloads instead of storage I/O.

 

Choice of Three Models

The first Windows Flash Array model to be made available (6264-WFA) will ship with 64x 1TiB* VIMMs. (1TiB = 2^40 bytes, whereas 1TB = 10^12 bytes. Put another way, 1TiB ˜ 1.1TB.) Models with 24x and 32x VIMMs will follow within a month or so.

The following table shows all three models:

Performance on Key Workloads

As part of the joint development between Microsoft and Violin, Microsoft optimized the Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 kernel to maximize performance with the Windows Flash Array. Combine this with Violin’s optimized flash technology and the result is remote storage that performs like blazing-fast local storage!
 

SQL Server Performance

The Windows Flash Array is particularly well-suited for transaction-oriented workloads such as Microsoft SQL Server. According to Violin, customers beta-testing the Windows Flash Array with SQL Server 2012 report that the Windows Flash Array delivers up to 2x the write performance and up to 50 percent higher read performance when compared to an industry-standard, all-flash array connected via Fibre Channel. The graph below shows results from the SQLIO load test performed on the 6264-WFA model.

Violin worked closely with the SQL Server team as part of the joint development effort and will be participating in SQL Server 2014 launch events beginning April 25^th.

A Violin whitepaper on applying the WFA to SQL Server workloads can be found here, and a solution brief on the same topic can be found here.

Hyper-V Performance

The WFA also excels in environments with a high degree of random I/O activity, including Hyper-V virtualization and private cloud architectures. As illustrated in the below graph, early testing shows the WFA delivering up to 40 percent greater write performance under Hyper-V than an industry standard, all flash array.

In addition, the use of SMB Direct can reduce CPU use by up to 30 percent, leaving more cycles for VM workloads. Finally, because the WFA is based on Windows Storage Server 2012 R2, you also get Storage Live Migration, which lets you bypass VM hosts for increased speed, efficiency, and flexibility in placement of VMs.

A Violin whitepaper on applying the WFA to Hyper-V workloads can be found here, and a solution brief on the same topic can be found here.
 

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

VDI workloads also have a high degree of random I/O activity, making the WFA a great choice for those workloads too. In fact, Microsoft and Violin are currently testing WFA performance under a VDI workload at the Microsoft Enterprise Engineering Center (EEC) in Redmond, with the goal of supporting 10,000 running VDI VMs on one Windows Flash Array! Test results are expected within the next few months, so be on the lookout for another blog article.

Also, don’t forget that Data Deduplication in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 added support for deduplicating running VDI VMs, with an up to 90 percent increase in storage efficiency. Put another way, this capability enables you to support approximately 10x the number of VMs with a given amount of storage space.

Matthias Wollnik, Senior Program Manager for Data Deduplication in Windows Server 2012 R2 (and thus in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2), does a great job explaining the benefits of Data Deduplication in a VDI environment in this Q&A blog post.

Uncompromised Scalability, Availability, and Manageability

With faster storage performance, you can optimize CPU investments more effectively across workloads. However, performance on its own is rarely enough. Fortunately, the Windows Flash Array also delivers enterprise-class scalability and availability, along with superior ease-of-management.
 

Flexibility to Scale-Up or Scale-Out

The WFA supports Storage Spaces in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2, allowing you to start with one of the smaller units and scale up to meet growing demand. The WFA also supports Microsoft’s Scale-Out File Server (SoFS) architecture, enabling you to easily scale-out to four arrays/eight nodes per cluster. (This is the level to which Violin has tested cluster scalability; the actual limits for Failover Clustering in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 is 64 nodes per failover cluster.)

Business-Critical Availability

The Windows Flash Array also incorporates multilayered hardware and software resiliency to deliver the availability levels required for business-critical applications. This is achieved through the use of:

• Redundant hot-pluggable fans and power supplies, non-disruptive (NDU) firmware upgrades, and a hardware design that avoids any single point-of-failure.
   
• Active/Active clustering (via Windows Failover Clustering) for continuous application uptime.
   
• SMB Multichannel to ensure that cluster node connectivity is maintained.
   
• Non-disruptive volume extensibility (provided through SoFS or thinly provisioned storage spaces), enabling you to add capacity to existing volumes without taking them offline.
   

Powerful, Familiar Management Tools

Last but not least, system administrators who are already familiar with Windows Server can deploy and manage one or more Windows Flash Arrays using existing Microsoft deployment and management tools, without having to learn any new skills.

Capabilities include:

• Rapid deployment. Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 is preinstalled on both compute nodes
  to speed deployment. Violin also implemented a custom out-of-the-box experience, which enables you to have an active/active cluster up and running in about 30 minutes.
   
• Familiar management tools. Even with the incredible performance provided by the WFA, it won’t require you to learn any complicated new technologies or management tools. Instead, you can use the Microsoft management tools and technologies with which you’re already familiar, including Server Manager, Microsoft System Center, or Windows PowerShell.
  
   

Closing Thoughts

Violin’s Windows Flash Array is clearly a game-changer for enterprise storage. Given its incredible performance and other enterprise “must-haves,” it’s clear that the year-and-a-half that Microsoft and Violin spent jointly developing it was well worth the effort!

So if you’re looking for enterprise storage that offers higher storage capacity and utilization, a smaller and less expensive IT footprint, easy integration into Windows Server-based IT infrastructures, and (according to Violin) a cost savings of up to 80 percent compared to a traditional SAN, I encourage you to visit the Violin website and check out the WFA for yourself!

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy