• Provision new servers easily and move them to different hardware
• Place the right workload at the right place at the right time
• Boot completely different operating system images then change them quickly for other tasks
• Switch between boot volumes according to task
• Create one unique boot volume per machine or one boot volume shared among multiple machines
• Render shared boot volumes read-only for the end-user
• Reboot the desktop to return to a pristine state
• Share a boot volume but maintain a private and persistent write cache
• Boot from backup boot volumes on the SAN or iSCSI SAN snapshots
• Perform diskless boot from iSCSI
• Centralize the management of system images by eliminating image copying and manual hard-drive update processes.
• Centralize all management of the remaining storage devices in your enterprise
• Boot a virtual machine’s guest operating system directly from an iSCSI SAN fabric

• Manage desktops and servers from one console
• Gain instant flexibility by separating the operating system and data from the hardware
• See your personal settings when you login to any workstation (with RES® PowerFuse add-on)
• Separates state from compute devices and allows them to run from iSCSI SAN.
• Share read-only images across large numbers of desktops
• Keep processing power close to your users
• Change only one image and all desktops instantly receive the new software.
• Run Microsoft Windows 7, XP Pro, Vista without a local hard drive
• Stream one centrally managed PC to all the PCs in an environment
• Eliminate the need to upgrade and patch multiple PCs
• Provide quick provisioning on server and blade platforms; unpack and rack new servers and put them in production within seconds
• Allow computers with similar workload needs to share a common bootable image, greatly reducing the total amount of storage required by avoiding the duplication inherent in each image’s common operating system and application binaries
• Store user data on database and file servers to keep the images stateless
• Maintain a separate writeable cache on each computer to store its own unique configuration such as computer name and network settings
• Keep the computer’s boot image in a read-only state with non-persistent, writeable cache to prevent corruption by accidental misuse or malicious attacks
• Use industry standard communication protocols and your entire existing infrastructure
• Doesn’t require any specialized hardware for cost-effective total cost of ownership
• Uses your existing iSCSI storage by building out LUNs and then pointing clients to that storage
• Runs on any Microsoft Windows computer and provides iSCSI target services to your network
• Creates iSCSI disks that reside as files on that server’s disks in the Microsoft VHD (Virtual Hard Drive) format
• Make target LUNs available to your boot-from-SAN clients using cost-effective Ethernet and IP protocol

• Boot failed machines from a snapshot or copied boot volume on the SAN
• Provide easy bare-metal deployment and disaster recovery services
• Create shared boot volumes that can be provisioned once and assigned to many machines
• Set up iSCSI storage for use by server or desktop systems in five clicks
• Allow multiple servers or workstations to access the same shared volumes
• Duplicate servers by simply cloning volumes using tools within the iSCSI storage
• Set up segregated data storage on a second LUN to retain data on SAN or NAS for increased security and backup

Double-Take Flex provides the ability to completely remove the disk storage from your desktops and centralize it on your SAN. Then you can assign individual computer images or groups of images and a selection menu to your desktops. Double-Take Flex works with your existing x86 or x64 operating systems and applications so you don’t have to worry about starting over from scratch with a new platform; simply transfer the existing images to your SAN and then assign them to the computer that needs them.

If a Double-Take Flex managed desktop becomes infected or corrupt, you don’t have to spend hours trying to diagnose and fix the problem. Data is stored on file servers and application servers safely behind corporate firewalls, Double-Take Flex gives you the option to keep your base images in a read-only state and only update them when you are ready. Simply tell the user to turn off the computer’s power and then turn it back on and their desktop is instantly restored to its pristine state.

Double-Take Flex also provides the same quick provisioning features on server and blade platforms. This allows you to unpack and rack new servers and put them in production within seconds. Just tell Double-Take Flex which of your pre-configured images that the new systems should boot from and turn the power on. Once the machine is running you can customize that image with its unique configuration and persist any changes to its image.

Virtualization Support

You can even perform boot-from-SAN from virtualization platforms, further reducing the time and complexity of managing workloads. Using Double-Take Flex, just point the existing running image to its new server home and then shutdown the old VM and start the new VM on the new host server. The guest will boot, find the Double-Take Flex server and receive its instructions where to find its boot disk on the SAN. Once found, it boots the operating system as normal and starts processing within seconds. Create a new base virtual machine configuration on the new server – you won’t need any disk resources – and then have it boot from the network. Flex works on VMware Workstation, VMware Server, and ESX/ESXi servers, Microsoft Virtual PC, Virtual Server and Hyper-V.

System Requirements

Operating System, all client and servers: Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2, x86 and x64, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, x86 and x64, Windows Vista, x86 and x64 (Enterprise edition, SP1 Enterprise edition), Windows XP Professional, Windows 7 x86 and x64, Linux daemons (Requires RHEL or SLES, RHEL 5.2 SLES 10.1). The latest service packs of each operating system must be installed.