Windows Server 2003 Drives New Storage Server

The latest version of Windows Powered NAS Server, renamed Windows Storage Server 2003, will allow OEMs to exploit the storage features of Windows Server 2003, such as the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), and bring Windows-based storage appliances to market more quickly with less custom development. Providing storage OEMs with a common OS platform with advanced storage-specific features allows Microsoft to offer a competitive option to Linux, but OEMs using Windows Server 2003 will have to work to differentiate their product in the storage appliance market.

(For background on the evolution of the product, see the sidebar “Evolution of Windows Storage Server“.)

New Features Target Storage Market

According to Gartner’s Network Attached Storage (NAS) Market Share report in Mar. 2003, 38% of the overall NAS deployments in 2002 were based on Windows Powered NAS devices. Dell, EMC, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Iomega, Legend Group, and NEC will likely produce new server appliances based on Windows Storage Server 2003, with EMC indicating it plans to have a product ready as early as Sept. 2003. This quick time to market is possible because Microsoft is providing key storage and server pieces that OEMs can easily build on and customize.