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I have a 2008 server 1U, it is a very powerful bugger, 2xQuad/32GB and 2x500GB on RAID1, for the past year, I have been using NAS drives for network users to store, but I think I can do better with a proper storage server attached to the server as part of the AD domain, but confused as to what I actually need to make one.
My limited vision of this is to have another server running Windows Storage Server, then somehow link them up with a card each on each server, but what cards do I need if this is the case ?
I don't really want to upgrade the server as the current one does the job well and the hardware is more than enough, so what I am after is additional storage that can be part of the main server, I am not a total newbie so just some useful pointers could be just what I need to get this going.
Thanks for any help on this.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by CimmerianX

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As outlined, the goal is extra fast storage that joins the existing Windows Server 2008 box without replacing it. As observed, a networked storage array can be more cost‑effective than another full Windows build. The practical choices are: direct‑attached storage (DAS) via an external SAS chassis, Ethernet block storage (iSCSI) over a properly provisioned network, or a Fibre Channel SAN. Each choice trades cost, complexity, and latency: DAS = lowest latency; 10GbE iSCSI = good scale; FC = high performance but higher cost.

Hardware to buy depends on that choice. For DAS, get an external SAS HBA with external Mini‑SAS ports and a JBOD that supports an expander. For Ethernet block storage, choose dual‑port 10GbE NICs (SFP+ or 10GBASE‑T) or iSCSI HBAs/CNAs if offload is wanted, plus a switch that supports LACP and jumbo frames. For FC, add Fibre Channel HBAs and at least one FC switch or a direct‑attach fabric. Budget setups can use bonded 1GbE NICs, but expect throughput and latency limits.

Configuration and performance notes specific to a 2008 host: Windows 2008 uses the software iSCSI initiator, so HW HBAs are optional but can reduce CPU load. Enable MPIO (multipath) on the host and configure NIC teaming or switch LACP so paths aggregate and provide redundancy. Use RAID10 or controllers with battery/supercap write cache for low write latency; SSDs or an SSD tier/cache dramatically improve random IO. Keep storage traffic on a dedicated network or VLAN, match MTUs across switch and NICs, and test for packet loss.

Quick validation workflow: provision a LUN, connect the host iSCSI initiator, enable MPIO/team, format the volume, then test network bandwidth. Example throughput test with iperf3:

# on storage/network-facing box
iperf3 -s

# on the Windows host (client)
iperf3 -c <storage_ip> -P 8 -t 60

Troubleshoot with iperf, PerfMon disk/queue counters, and check switch counters for errors.

Member Avatar for CimmerianX

A Good iSCSI drive array is probably cheaper then an entire MS Server buildout. The iSCSI volume can be mapped up to the main server and appear as attached storage.

You can also go with an iSCSI or NAS array with CIFS support so it can share out space directly to clients without the need to go through a server.

If you are on the cheap, NAS4Free or opennas are opensource products. Run 2 in a replicated 'cluster' and you get space and failover.

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