DataCore Software, a leading provider of Hyper-converged Virtual SAN, Software-Defined Storage and Adaptive Parallel I/O Software, announced  that to support the Microsoft Ignite 2016 event and Microsoft Server 2016 announcements, it will offer license keys for its Parallel I/O-powered DataCore™ Hyper-converged Virtual SAN software at no cost to Microsoft MVPs. DataCore powers the ‘world’s fastest hyper-converged solutions’ and the software has been proven to boost Microsoft application performance (e.g. Microsoft SQL server and Microsoft Dynamics) and provide powerful data services to run and support Microsoft server and Azure cloud platforms – the software runs either directly on the root partition on physical servers, with Hyper-V, on a virtual machine or on an Azure VM instance.

The not-for-resale (NFR) license keys –  available for non-production uses such as home labs, course development, training, feature testing and demonstration purposes -- are intended to support virtualization consultants, instructors and architects involved in efforts aimed at managing and fully leveraging storage assets.

“DataCore delivers the industry’s fastest hyper-converged solutions by using multi-cores to drive parallel I/O processing for dramatically increased performance,” said George Teixeira, co-founder and CEO of DataCore Software. “This NFR license offer will make it easy for Microsoft experts to explore firsthand exactly how parallel processing powers high-performance hyper-converged infrastructure and experience the unmatched power of DataCore’s Hyper-converged Virtual SAN software.”

As a Microsoft Gold Certified ISV Partner specializing in data infrastructure software, DataCore works closely with Microsoft to integrate products and services as well as support and training programs. DataCore is one of the only suppliers of enterprise-class, high-performance storage solutions running natively on the Windows Server operating system. The most common areas of product integration include Windows Server with Hyper-V, System Center, SQL Server, Exchange, and the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

For example, DataCore integrates with Microsoft Azure in several ways, including auto-tiering of Microsoft StorSimple hybrid cloud storage, in addition to enabling private cloud disaster recovery using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. DataCore software provides a complete Microsoft PowerShell stack for automation using public or private cloud deployments. Complete details on all Microsoft technology integrations can be found here.

DataCore Hyper-converged Virtual SAN incorporates the latest advances in the company’srecord-breaking Parallel I/O technology to help increase the performance of Tier-1 business applications for higher productivity, as well as to consolidate infrastructure by doing more workloads and delivering the fastest response times at the lowest cost. DataCore recently shattered the performance and price-performance marks for hyper-converged and storage solutions using one of the industry’s most prestigious benchmarks; the Storage Performance Council’s SPC-1 (which measures IOPS and latency against enterprise database and transaction processing workloads).

DataCore Hyper-Converged Virtual SAN software provides advanced storage and data infrastructure services to hosts running Windows Server 2016, 2012 R2, 2008, 2003 and 2000 hosts through physical and virtual iSCSI and Fibre Channel connections. In Hyper-V environments, the DataCore software services powered by Parallel I/O technology run in the root partition of Windows Server. They do not consume virtual machines.

Microsoft and DataCore share more than 10,000 joint customers around the globe across a broad range of vertical industries. Examples include prestigious healthcare organizations, top financial institutions and hardened manufacturing environments, as well as government and educational institutions. These customers are served by specialists in DataCore and Microsoft technologies at system integrators and value added partners.

The NFR license keys are available at no cost to qualified experts and may be obtained by registering at DataCore web-site. Keys must be used for non-production purposes only.