Datasheet

Operating System Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2012 R2, Standard Edition
Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 (WSS2012 R2) includes a robust range of file serving and storage
capabilities. It addresses heterogeneous environments and it enables more efficient storage
utilization. WSS2012 R2 delivers a similar level of performance and reliability as more expensive
storage solutions and it offers support for both file (SMB and NFS) and block (iSCSI) protocols,
allows for a flexible mix of configurations and includes advanced data management tools. WSS2012
R2 leverages your Windows Server management skill sets and tools including Active Directory,
PowerShell and System Center.
Extensive protocol support: SMB (, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.02), NFS (v2, v3, v4.1), WebDAV, HTTP/HTTPS,
FTP/FTPS, ISCSI
SMB 3: Leverage high performance continually available file shares to deliver feature-rich storage
for business-critical applications and virtual servers using advanced new functionality.
New VHDX Standard: Deploy larger capacity virtual storage that can grow to 64 terabytes, is more
resilient against corruption, and provides more efficient usage of new 4 KB sector hard disks with
the new VHDX virtual storage standard.
Live Storage Migration: Maintain maximized service-level availability even while moving virtual
machine storage between host servers independent of the actual virtual machine.
SMB Multi-channel: Enable aggregation of network bandwidth and network fault tolerance when
multiple paths are available between SMB clients and file servers.
NFS v4.1: For Windows Storage Server 2012 R2, Server for NFS has been updated to support
continuous availability. These improvements make it possible to reliably store and run VMware ESX
on a virtual machine that is running Windows Server 2012 R2 by using the NFS protocol to share
files. Additional improvements in failover clustering take advantage of better resilience to hardware
and software outages that may afflict individual cluster nodes. At the same time, failover clustering
isolates VMware ESX hypervisor hosts from intermittent glitches during failovers.
iSCSI: Some applications require block storage. iSCSI Target Server can provide these applications
with continuously available block storage. Since the storage is remotely accessible it can also
consolidate block storage for central or branch office locations. By using boot-capable NICs or a
software loader, you can deploy hundreds of diskless servers. This is ideal for large deployments of
identical operating system images, such as a Hyper-V server farm or High Performance Computing
(HPC) clusters.
Data Deduplication: Data deduplication enables Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 to store more
data in less physical space and achieve storage efficiency that is significantly higher than was
possible in previous releases of Windows Storage Server that used Single Instance Storage (SIS) or
NTFS file system compression. Data deduplication uses variable size chunking and compression,
which deliver optimization ratios of 2:1 for general file servers and up to 20:1 for virtualization data.
Evaluate your savings with the Deduplication Evaluation Tool. When the deduplication feature is
installed, the Deduplication Evaluation Tool (DDPEval.exe) is automatically installed to the
\Windows\System32\ directory. This tool can be copied from any Windows Storage Server 2012
installation to systems running Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server
2008 R2, or Windows 7 . You can use it to determine the expected savings that you would get if
deduplication is enabled on a particular volume. DDPEval.exe supports local drives, and it supports
evaluating mapped or unmapped remote shares.
Volume Shadow Copy Service: creates point-in-time copies (snapshots) of files and folders at
predetermined time intervals that can then be accessed from client computers.
VSS for Remote SMB File Shares: Leverage proven Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to offload
snapshot and backup operations to remote storage from VSS hardware providers within Hyper-V
virtual machines.
Offloaded data transfer (ODX): Enables you to accomplish more with existing external storage
QuickSpecs
HP StoreEasy 3840 Gateway Storage Blade
Standard Features
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