A year after some declared iSCSI dead -- or at least deeply sleeping -- the technology has started to pick up momentum in recent months (see iSCSI in Exile).
In a move that has significantly stoked the iSCSI embers, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) two weeks ago started offering free downloads of its iSCSI initiator for the latest versions of Windows (see Microsoft Delivers iSCSI for Windows).
Zane Adam, director of product management and marketing in Microsoft's Enterprise Storage Division, says that more than 1,500 people downloaded the free initiator in the first week, and "iSCSI" is currently one of the top 100 search terms on the Microsoft site.
"We wanted to be sure that when customers deploy IP SANs with iSCSI that there are no interoperability problems," Adam says. "Because we're supporting it, and because we launched the initiator, it will help enable more adoption of iSCSI."
Of course, 1,500 downloads doesn't sound like a lot, coming from the Redmond behemoth, and it's worth noting that the iSCSI driver isn't even currently in the top 50 downloads on Microsoft's downloads site.
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