Evolution of Windows Storage Server

Windows Storage Server 2003 represents the third version of a Microsoft server appliance kit, and the first version targeting storage OEMs.

First came the Server Appliance Kit (SAK), released in 2001, which enabled OEMs to build server appliances based on Windows Server 2000. The SAK provided support for building “headless” servers that do not require an attached console (headless support was not a part of the base Windows 2000 Server product) and included other tools to facilitate the creation of management UI for the server appliances. However, this kit focused on generic server-based appliances, so building a storage device, while feasible, required each OEM to add many storage-specific features.

The Windows SAK version 2.0, released in spring 2001, continued to support the creation of generic appliances. An add-on kit released in late 2001 added support for role-based administration and for managing multiple appliances from a single management workstation, and devices built on this platform began to be referred to with the title “Windows Powered NAS.”