Inside Windows Storage: Server Storage Technologies for Windows® 2000, Windows® Server 2003, and Beyond

Book description

"Dilip Naik's Inside Windows Storage is an invaluable reference for developers and customers alike and is a must-read for anyone wishing to implement Windows-based storage networking."
—Tom Clark, Director, Technical Marketing, Nishan Systems

The Windows and enterprise storage markets are converging. Migrating upwards from low-end servers, Windows is becoming a genuine platform for running mission-critical applications. The enterprise storage market is moving from high-end servers to also include medium range servers. Thanks to a slew of enterprise storage related features, Microsoft Windows storage technologies are rapidly gaining widespread acceptance. System administrators, programmers, and technical managers need to learn to appreciate and to tap the full potential of Windows enterprise storage.

Inside Windows Storage is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at new and emerging Microsoft storage technologies. The text begins with an overview of the enterprise storage industry and Windows Server architecture, including the Windows NT I/O subsystem. With that foundation in place, readers explore the ins and outs of current Windows offerings, upcoming Windows server releases, and third-party products.

Key topic coverage includes:

  • Direct Attached Storage, including the new Windows Storport driver model

  • Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs)

  • Network Attached Storage (NAS), including the Windows NT network stack and an overview of CIFS

  • Backup and restore technologies, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Volume Shadow Copy Service

  • File systems and disk virtualization, including a detailed overview of NTFS as well as a study of Windows cluster file systems

  • Storage management, including the new Windows Virtual Disk Service

  • IP Storage and Infiniband

  • High availability, including RAID mirroring as well as multi path I/O solutions

This extensive guide concludes by tracing Windows NT storage features as they appear in Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003, and by offering a preview of what to expect from future Windows server releases. In short, Inside Windows Storage will help IT professionals gear up for the major role that Windows servers will surely play in the future of enterprise storage.



032112698XB06302003

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Introduction
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Introduction to Windows NT and Windows NT Storage Device Drivers
    1. Windows Kernel Mode and User Mode
    2. Processes, Process Context, and Threads
    3. Windows NT Architecture
    4. Windows Device Driver–Related Data Structures
    5. Anatomy of a Windows Device Driver
    6. Drivers and I/O Buffers
    7. Storage Driver Hierarchy and Driver Types
    8. A Typical Storage Application I/O
    9. Practical Implications
    10. Summary
  5. Direct-Attached Storage
    1. SCSI
    2. IDE, EIDE, and ATA
    3. Mini IDE Driver Model
    4. The Emergence of HBAs
    5. LUNs
    6. Storport Driver
    7. Practical Implications
    8. Summary
  6. Network-Attached Storage
    1. The Emergence of NAS
    2. The Windows NT Network Stack
    3. Common Internet File System and Server Message Blocks
    4. Network File System
    5. Multiprotocol Access Problems
    6. Windows and NAS
    7. Microsoft Exchange 2000 and NAS
    8. Practical Implications
    9. Summary
  7. Introduction to Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks
    1. The Need for Fibre Channel
    2. Comparison of Network-Attached Storage and Storage Area Networks
    3. Advantages of Fibre Channel
    4. Fibre Channel Topologies
    5. Fibre Channel Port Types
    6. Fibre Channel Protocol
    7. SAN Building Blocks
    8. Fibre Channel Management Concepts
    9. Fibre Channel Interoperability
    10. Practical Implications
    11. Summary
  8. Backup and Restore Technologies
    1. Reasons for Backup and Restore
    2. Backup Problems
    3. Backup Classifications
    4. Windows 2000 Backup Utility
    5. Techniques to Create a Volume Snapshot
    6. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Volume Shadow Copy Service
    7. Windows-Powered NAS Devices and Snapshots
    8. Network Data Management Protocol
    9. Practical Implications
    10. Summary
  9. File Systems
    1. Disks, Partitions, and Volumes
    2. Volumes and Volume Managers
    3. Device Namespace
    4. Nonprimary File Systems
    5. NTFS
    6. SAN File Systems
    7. Practical Implications
    8. Summary
  10. Storage Management
    1. The Common Information Model and WBEM
    2. Windows Management Instrumentation
    3. Storage Virtualization
    4. Microsoft Storage Virtualization Vision
    5. HBA API
    6. Management Command-Line Utilities
    7. SAN Security
    8. Hierarchical Storage Management
    9. The Future of SNIA Storage Management: The Storage Management Initiative
    10. Practical Implications
    11. Summary
  11. IP Storage and InfiniBand
    1. IP Storage
    2. InfiniBand
    3. Practical Implications
    4. Summary
  12. High Availability
    1. RAID
    2. Windows NT and RAID Implementation
    3. High Availability Using Redundancy
    4. Local and Remote Mirroring
    5. Practical Implications
    6. Summary
  13. Storage Features by Windows Product Release Cycles
    1. Windows NT 4.0
    2. Windows 2000
    3. Windows Server 2003
    4. Post-Windows Server 2003
    5. What's Missing?
    6. Practical Implications
    7. Summary
  14. References
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10

Product information

  • Title: Inside Windows Storage: Server Storage Technologies for Windows® 2000, Windows® Server 2003, and Beyond
  • Author(s): Dilip C. Naik
  • Release date: July 2003
  • Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional
  • ISBN: 032112698X