iSCSI software in your lab environment?

In a (virtual) Exchange testing environment it can be very useful to have an iSCSI storage environment to store your information, databases or virtual machines. But chances are little that you an iSCSI storage device is available in your lab environment. But in a typical lab environment there are plenty of servers available that can be used for testing.

A software iSCSI solution can be a viable solution, especially when you have servers available with local storage. I have been playing around with the iSCSI software solution from Starwind. No, I’m not sponsored, I’m just interested in flexible solutions and this turned out to be one 😉

It is possible to download a 30 day trial version for testing purposed. Install the Starwind software and your server will be turned into an iSCSI device. Using the Starwind Management console you can create iSCSI targets, and a target can use a (binary) file on your hard disk to store its data. It is also possible to use dedicated disks as targets, much like the Hyper-V pass-through mechanism. It is also possible to use CHAP and set access rules for improved security. It is even possible to allow multiple connections to an iSCSI target to create clusters.

Use the iSCSI initiator on your Exchange server, connect to the iSCSI target and you’re ready to go.

Please note that the Starwind software is not free of charge. For more information visit Starwind's website.

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