Dell PowerVault NX1950 Deployment Guide (Configuration procedures on you - Page 14

Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is used for creating and managing iSCSI targets. It can also be used for creating virtual disks for storage and implementing backup and recovery support using snapshots. For iSCSI configuration, see the End-to-End Deployment Guide for iSCSI on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. Virtual Disk Storage The disks that are created using iSCSI software target are virtual disks, which are files in the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format. Virtual disks provide the following features: • Flexible and effective storage • Dynamically extendable to provide extra capacity on demand • Efficient storage utilization • Minimizes the time required to create new disks • Reduces the down time typically required to install new disks Snapshots A snapshot is a point-in-time, read-only copy of an iSCSI virtual disk. Creating snapshots of iSCSI virtual disks facilitates backup and recovery operations. Snapshots are used as interim copies of data that have been modified since the most recent backup. Snapshots offer the following advantages: • Snapshots can be scheduled to be created automatically. • Snapshots are space-efficient because they are differential copies. • It is not necessary to close files or stop programs when creating snapshots, so application servers can continue servicing clients without disruption. • Each snapshot is typically created in less than one minute regardless of the amount of data. • Snapshots are useful for fast system recovery of files and volumes, in case of accidental data deletion by a user, overwritten data, or data corruption resulting from a malicious program. • Snapshots can be mounted locally or exported to facilitate backup and recovery operations. 14 Deployment Guide