DataCore's SANmelody is a storage virtualisation tool that enables a Windows server to be used as an iSCSI storage server, more correctly called an iSCSI target. Chargeable options with the system include asynchronous server-to-server mirroring, snapshot backups and automatic provisioning.

Although a fairly new standard, iSCSI is likely to be very widely used very soon, so firms should evaluate the free test version of SANmelody in order to obtain some hands-on experience with this strategically significant technology.

SANmelody requires a server running Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and fitted with one network interface card and at least 512MB of RAM. The software puts no restriction on the type of hard disks that can be used, so it would be just as easy to use low-cost Serial ATA (Sata) disks rather than relatively expensive SCSI ones. Given the price difference between these two types, companies could build a Sata-based iSCSI server for the price of a few SCSI disks.

For example, typical Sata disks currently provide 150GB of storage and retail for around £100, compared with SCSI disks that typically provide 70GB of storage and cost four times as much.

DataCore provides a free trial version for download from its web site, but this version does not include the optional features that differentiate SANmelody from the various open-source iSCSI target software projects. For example, the full version of SANmelody includes the ability to provision 2-terabyte virtual volumes, which enables SANmelody to allocate volumes in such a way that the volume consumes just the disk space that is actually being used rather than the full 2TB. This useful feature and the asynchronous remote data mirroring are probably the two reasons why organisations would want to buy SANmelody rather than use an open-source alternative. Even so, the free download edition contains all that is needed to make a fully functional iSCSI storage server, and it is very quick and easy to get up and running.

We installed the test software on a server fitted with two 3.2GHz Xeon chips and 2GB of RAM. The server was also fitted with two 150GB SCSI disks and a Raid controller, of which only some 10GB was used by the Windows partition.

Unfortunately, DataCore suggests that SANmelody should not use the same disk mechanisms as the Windows operating system, so we found we needed to add a third SCSI mechanism into our server for use by our iSCSI clients.

The supplied documentation is comprehensive and includes a step-by-step "quick start" section that is very easy to work through. However, we stalled at the third page because details about the Activate Changes button were missing from the guide. A quick phone call to the DataCore helpdesk fixed the problem, however, and we did not need to call again.

It took about one hour to install and configure SANmelody and configure an application server to use iSCSI and attach to its storage. In particular, we were impressed by SANmelody's Microsoft Management Console (MMC)-based tools, which made it very easy to allocate storage to various servers. These were much easier to work with than some Fibre Channel-based suites we have seen previously.

Unfortunately we were unable to test the virtual volume provisioning or asynchronous mirroring functions as they are missing from the downloadable trial version.

We also found a few rough edges on the beta software. For example, when we performed a reboot, SANmelody produced a warning asking us to stop its service first. It would have been more helpful if the system had included a link to the appropriate software utility.

Price: free beta edition as tested. Full version will cost about $1,200.

Contact: DataCore 0118 949 7024