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M2 - Lesson 1: Managing disks in Windows Server (Using .vhd and .vhdx file…
M2 - Lesson 1: Managing disks in Windows Server
Selecting a file system
FAT
Partition size limitations
FAT32 to enable larger disks
Basic file system
exFAT developed for flash drives
The original release of FAT could only access partitions that were less than 2 GB in size. To enable larger disks, Microsoft developed FAT32, which supports partitions of up to 2 TB.
NTFS
Auditing and journaling
Security (Access Control Lists and encryption)
Metadata
NTFS is required for a number of Windows Server 2016 roles and features such as Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), Distributed File System (DFS), and file replication service (FRS).
ReFS
Enhanced data verification and error correction
Support for larger files, directories and volumes
Backward compatibility support for NTFS
You cannot use ReFS for the boot volume
Partition table format
MBR
Standard partition table format since 1980s
Supports a maximum of four primary partitions per drive
Can partition a disk up to 2 TB
GPT
GPT is the successor of the MBR
Supports a maximum of 128 partitions per drive
Can partition a disk up to 18 exabytes
Tip: Use MBR for disks smaller than 2 TB and GPT for larger disks
Selecting a disk type
Basic Disks
Disks initialised for basic storage
The default storage for the Windows OS
Dynamic Disks
Be modified without restarting the OS
Provides several options for configuring volumes
Disk Volume requirements
A system volume for hardware-specific files that are required to start the server
A boot volume for the Windows operating system files
Hardware
Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE):
128 GB storage limit and 133 MBps speed limit
Solid-State Drives (SSDs):
SSDs are data storage devices that use solid-state memory to store data rather than using the spinning disks and movable read/write heads that are used in other disks. More expensive per GB of storage
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI):
Ultra 640 SCSI (also known as Ultra 5), can transfer data at speeds of 640 MBps. SCSI disks provide higher performance than SATA disks, but are also more expensive.
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA):
SATA can operate at speeds of 1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 GB per second, depending on the SATA revision (1, 2, or 3 respectively). SATA disks are generally low-cost disks that provide mass storage for reduced performance
SAS:
Further implementation of SCSI. SAS drives are reliable and made for 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7) operation in data centers. With up to 15,000 rotations per minute, these disks are also the fastest traditional hard disks.
Required disk volumes
Boot volumes
: The boot volume contains the Windows operating system files that are in the
%Systemroot%
and
%Systemroot%\System32
folders. The boot volume can be the same as the system volume, although this is not required.
System Volumes:
The system volume contains the hardware-specific files that the Windows operating system needs to load, such as
Bootmgr
and
BOOTSECT.bak
. The system volume can be the same as the boot volume, although this is not required.
Implementing ReFS
Advantages
Metadata integrity with checksums
Expanded protection against data corruption
Maximizes reliability, especially during a loss of power (while NTFS has been known to experience corruption in similar circumstances)
Large volume, file, and directory sizes
Storage pooling and virtualization, which makes creating and managing file systems easier
Redundancy for fault tolerance
Disk scrubbing for protection against latent disk errors
Resiliency to corruptions with recovery for maximum volume availability
Shared storage pools across machines for additional failure tolerance and load balancing
NTFS Inheritance
BitLocker Drive Encryption
Symbolic links, junction points, mount points and reparse points
Change notifications
Update sequence number (USN) journal
Access Control Lists (ACL) for security
Volume snapshots
File IDs
Attributes / Limits
Max size of single file:
16 exabytes
Maximum size of any storage pool:
4 petabytes
There is
no limit
to number of storage pools in a system or number of spaces in a storage pool.
Using .vhd and .vhdx file types
Create and manage VHDs by using DIsk Management and diskpart.exe
Configure .vhd or .vhdx files
Configure computers to start from the virtual hard disk
Transfer virtual hard disks from Hyper-V servers, and start computers from a virtual hard disk.
Use virtual hard disks as a deployment technology
PowerShell
Create VHD:
New-VHD -Path c:\sales.vhd -Dynamic -SizeBytes 10Gb
Mount VHD:
Use this command to mount the virtual hard disk to create volumes and format files systems.
Initialize VHD:
Use this command to initialize the disk in preparation for creating volumes.
Set VHD:
Set-VHD –Path c:\Sales.vhdx –PhysicalSectorSizeBytes 4096
Convert VHD:
You can use the Convert-vhd cmdlet to change from a VHD to a VHDX file format.