Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is set to unveil the long-awaited storage version of Windows Server 2008 next week.
The software giant has scheduled a Web event for May 7 titled “Introducing Windows Storage Server 2008.” A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the “impending release” of Storage Server 2008, but had no other details.
The event description states, “It is finally here — the Windows Storage Server 2008 release based on Windows Server 2008 is ready for OEM embedded partners to develop dedicated NAS and block appliances.”
The Web site highlights “new improvements in the OS,” citing OEM extensibility, single instance storage (SIS), or deduplication, Java-based remote desktop features and a new iSCSI Software Target package.
The iSCSI target could be the latest version of technology Microsoft acquired from String Bean Software three years ago, while SIS was also a feature in Windows Storage Server 2003 R2.
Coming more than a year after the introduction of Windows Server 2008, the new storage offering will likely be the successor to Microsoft’s popular Windows Storage Server 2003.
The announcement coincides with the release candidate of Windows Server 2008 R2.
After an ambitious move into the data storage market earlier this decade, it’s been a quiet couple of years for Microsoft on the storage front. Thursday’s announcement promises to change that.
Microsoft OEM partners like Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and HP (NYSE: HPQ) will likely follow by announcing their Windows Storage Server 2008 appliances over the next several weeks.
Scott Johnson, Microsoft’s storage solutions program manager, and Jason Buffington, senior technical product manager, will lead Thursday’s event.
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