StarWind Releases a New Version of Storage Software and Enhanced Backup for Windows Server Hyper-V

StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V V6, the more reliable than ever before storage hypervisor, running on existing Hyper-V servers, and Hyper-V Backup Plug-in for ultimate data protection

Burlington, MA – November 15, 2012 - StarWind Software Inc., an innovative provider of storage virtualization software and VM backup technology, announced today the release of the new StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V V6 and improved Hyper-V Backup Plug-in.

The new version of StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V is enhanced with the three-node synchronous mirroring of HA storage cluster. The system provides real-time replication and simultaneously updates the three distributed copies of data. The new HA architecture ensures 99.9999% uptime, provides at least 50% higher performance compared to the 2-node configuration, intensifies redundancy, makes the storage resilient against failures, and greatly simplifies the maintenance. Henceforth, you can add high availability to StarWind virtual devices. It is possible to add high availability to the CDP-device, or export the entire physical disk as the HA device.

Another significant addition is a clustered scale-out NAS. Clustered NAS (NFS & CIFS/SMB) is configured on top of the highly available iSCSI SAN. StarWind consolidates file and block level data in the common storage pool, thereby creating unified SAN/NAS storage. Consolidated storage simplifies configuration and maintenance and increases the storage utilization rates.

Furthermore, StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V introduces improved data deduplication. In-line target-side deduplication drastically cuts down storage space requirements and the amount of redundant data across the datacenter, decreasing storage expenses regardless of the data growth.

Along with a release of the new version of storage software, StarWind presents a new enhanced Hyper-V Backup Plug-in. That is a reliable, simple, and high performance backup solution, built specifically for Hyper-V-based environments to provide fast backup and restore for Hyper-V virtual machines. This agentless backup solution allows fast and efficient transfer of VM data to any storage, and utilizes built-in Global Deduplication technology that minimizes the disk space requirements.

Besides the full VM backup, Hyper-V Backup Plug-in provides an incremental backup option. It stores only those blocks that have changed since the last backup operation and ensures a considerable reduction of storage space requirements.

Among the new improvements, the most important are cross-hypervisor support that allows for managing both Hyper-V and ESX hosts and protecting Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines from a single Management Console; auto testing tool for created archives; easy installation and first run.

"Today, we introduce you the new version of StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V that is easy-to-manage, as usual, but more reliable, efficient, and fast, along with the upgraded, powerful Hyper-V Backup Plug-in" said Artem Berman, Chief Executive Officer of StarWind Software. "Along with the ultimate data protection ensured by best-in-breed storage and backup, you have the opportunity to benefit from the provided cost-effectiveness. Running on the existing hardware, StarWind Native SAN for Hyper-V provides the tangible cost savings from your virtualization infrastructure, reduces production costs, increases efficiency, and speeds ROI."

About StarWind Software Inc.
StarWind Software is a global leader in storage management and SAN software for small and midsize companies. StarWind's flagship product is SAN software that turns any industry-standard Windows Server into a fault-tolerant, fail-safe iSCSI SAN. StarWind iSCSI SAN is qualified for use with VMware, Hyper-V, XenServer and Linux and Unix environments. StarWind Software focuses on providing small and midsize companies with affordable, highly availability storage technology which previously was only available in high-end storage hardware. Advanced enterprise-class features in StarWind include Automated HA Storage Node Failover and Failback (High Availability), Replication across a WAN, CDP and Snapshots, Thin Provisioning and Virtual Tape management.

Since 2003, StarWind has pioneered the iSCSI SAN software industry and is the solution of choice for over 30,000 customers worldwide in more than 100 countries and from small and midsize companies to governments and Fortune 1000 companies.

For more information on StarWind Software Inc., visit: www.starwindsoftware.com

Press Contacts:
StarWind Software Inc.
+1 (617) 449-7717
info@starwindsoftware.com

Social Media Links
Twitter: http://twitter.com/starwindsan
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/starwind-software-inc
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StarWind.Software

### StarWind Software and the StarWind logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of StarWind Software Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.