LSI Working With Microsoft

LSI Corporation is working with Microsoft Corp. on the development of low-cost, Windows-based, high-availability server clustering solutions for cloud datacenters and SMB environments.

The solutions will combine Microsoft’s experience in managing clustered server environments through the Windows operating system with LSI’s expertise delivering highly scalable storage and RAID interconnect technology.

The result of this effort is intended to lower the cost and complexity of HA systems clustering for server platforms based on Microsoft’s next-generation OS, codenamed Windows Server 8, by providing redundant shared-node storage and application failover without requiring additional networking hardware. The solutions are designed to provide both clustered DAS for application servers and clustered NAS when used for file serving environments.

"We are excited that LSI is bringing its industry-leading storage solutions to a new generation of continuously available systems in the marketplace," said Thomas Pfenning, General Manager, Windows File Server, Microsoft. "LSI’s solutions combined with Windows Server will give customers an unprecedented range of choices."

The combination of HA-DAS with Windows Server will allow cloud datacenter providers to support a wider array of applications and enable scale-out to larger server clusters while preserving low latency. For SMBs running local applications, HA-DAS will offer a cost-effective manage solution for avoiding application downtime and the associated lost productivity and revenue. The solutions will also help to increase storage utilization and reduce power, cooling and space requirements for a lower TCO.

"Current redundant server-storage solutions require complex storage networks or additional virtualization hardware, increasing both latency and costs," said Kelly Bryant, vice president of marketing, RAID Storage Division, LSI. "Together with Microsoft, we will help businesses of all sizes ensure application uptime by integrating multiple servers with common node storage for unprecedented media access, scalability and application failover at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions."

LSI unveiled an HA-DAS technology implementation at the Microsoft BUILD Conference, September 13-15, at the Anaheim Convention Center. LSI showed an HA-DAS ‘cluster-in-a-box’ solution implementation consisting of a two-server 3U system in a single enclosure, utilizing LSI MegaRAID 6Gb/s SAS controllers to cluster each motherboard together while providing redundant storage connectivity for both servers.

More information about the LSI and Microsoft co-development work on HA-DAS solutions