Microsoft finally releases an iSCSI software target as a free download

[Arthur]

What took them so long!!!

 

Download / Direct Link / More Info / Known Issues

 

For years, if you wanted to get hold of the Microsoft iSCSI software target (e.g. for testing Windows clusters without access to “proper” storage), you had to rely on “finding” a copy that a Microsoft employee had left lying around (it was officially only available for internal use). Then came advice on extracting it from Windows Storage Server. Now it’s finally been made available as a free download for Windows Server. Fantastic news! (Source)

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 

Q: Can I install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003?

A: No. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 can only be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2.

 

Q: Can I install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)?

A: Yes. In fact, that’s what is recommended.

 

Q: Can I install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on a Core install of Windows Server 2008 R2?

A: No. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 is only supported in a Full install.

 

Q: I don’t have a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2. Where can I get an evaluation copy?

A: You download an evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd459137.aspx

 

Q: Where is the x86 (32-bit) version of the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3?

A: The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3, is provided in only in an x64 (64-bit) version, as is Windows Server 2008 R2,

 

Q: What are these “iSCSITargetClient” MSI files included in the download?

A: Those are the optional VSS and VDS providers for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3. You should install them in the same computer that runs the iSCSI Initiator if you intend to use VSS or VDS. For details on VSS, see http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2007/10/10/the-basics-of-the-volume-shadow-copy-service-vss.aspx. For details on VDS, see http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2007/10/25/the-basics-of-the-virtual-disk-services-vds.aspx.

 

Q: Where is the Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 documentation?

A: There is some documentation inside the package. Additional documentation is available on the web at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg232606.aspx

 

Q: Can I use the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 as shared storage for a Windows Server Failover Cluster?

A: Yes. That is one of its most common uses.

 

Q: Can I install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 in a Hyper-V virtual machine?

A: Yes. We do it all the time.

 

Q: Can I use the downloaded Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 in my production environment?

A: Yes. Make sure to perform the proper evaluation and testing before deploying any software in a production environment. But you knew that already…

 

Q: What are the support policies for the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 on Windows Server 2008 R2?

A: The support policies are listed at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg983493.aspx

 

http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2011/04/04/microsoft-iscsi-software-target-3-3-for-windows-server-2008-r2-available-for-public-download.aspx

 

Q: The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is now free. Is it supported in a production environment?

A: Yes. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is supported in a production environment. The Hyper-V team regularly tests with the MS iSCSI Software Target and it works great with Hyper-V.

 

Q: On what operating systems is the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target supported?

A: The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is supported for Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter Editions.

 

Q: Can the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 use the free Microsoft iSCSI Software Target?

A: Yes and No. Yes, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 can act as a client to access virtual machines via iSCSI. The way to do that is to type iscsicpl.exe at the command prompt to bring up the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (client) and configure it to access an iSCSI Target (server). However, you can't install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on a Microsoft Hyper-V Server. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target requires Windows Server 2008 R2.

 

http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2011/04/04/free-microsoft-iscsi-target.aspx

[andrew-virtusolve]

What took them so long!!!

 

The amount of people who were prepared to pay for Storage Server ;-)

 

Good post, Thanks

[jamesfed]

Only just noticed this today when I was looking through FreeNAS and OpenFiler - going to make my next Hyper-V deployment a lot easier!

[synaesthesia]

Damn that's good to know - cheers!

[dyoung5]

Yeay, this is excellent news

 

We have Windows storage server 2003 which includes iSCSI target, and I've been wanting to upgrade it to 2008R2, but to cost of a WSS upgrade is several hundreds as there is no educational discount. iSCSI is the only thing that has been keeping me from installing Server Standard on it as we use it as a low-cost dev SAN for VMWare. This means that we can get our file server compatible with Windows 7 finally (after upgrading the clients last year) with out having to shell out.

[AngryTechnician]

Missed this when it happened last week as I was on holiday, but have been catching up today.

 

From what I see, this leaves SIS as the only remaining feature of Windows Storage Server that you can't get with regular Windows Server. It it worth it? Well, here's the stats from my main files shares (size vs. size on disk):

 

 

Granted, the total data size is not huge, but the percentage is significant. Just over 1/3 of the stored data is using no additional space (I'm not using compression, so SIS is the only thing reducing the size on disk). Scale that up to larger schools and if your usage patterns are similar, that's a significant saving.