Windows Server 2012 : Deploying Storage Spaces (part 5) - Implementing Storage Spaces, Using Windows PowerShell

3/6/2014 3:23:04 AM

3. Implementing Storage Spaces

Implementing a standalone Storage Spaces solution in your environment basically involves doing two things:

Installing the File Server role service
Connecting additional physical storage to your server if this is needed

You can perform the first step by using either Server Manager or Windows PowerShell, as the following sections demonstrate. Additional physical storage can be added at any time, either by installing more internal disks in the server or by connecting external storage enclosures to the server. Such additional physical storage can also be added either before or after you install the File Server role service.

Using Server Manager

You can use Server Manager to implement Storage Spaces on a server running Windows Server 2012. To do this, launch the Add Roles And Features Wizard from the Manage menu on the Server Manager toolbar. Then select the File Server role service, which is located under the File And iSCSI Services role services in the File And Storage Services role as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Installing the File Server role service implements Storage Spaces on the server.

Note

Storage Services

The Storage Services role service of the File And Storage Services role is always installed by default whenever you install Windows Server 2012 on a server. This is because the Storage Services role service provides storage-management functionality that is needed by any other roles you might install on the server.

4. Using Windows PowerShell

You can also use Windows PowerShell to implement Storage Spaces on a server running Windows Server 2012. You can use the Get-WindowsFeature cmdlet to display the install state of the different role services of the File And Storage Services role on a clean install of Windows Server 2012 as follows:

[X] File And Storage Services                  FileAndStorage-Services        Installed
    [ ] File and iSCSI Services                File-Services                  Available
        [ ] File Server                        FS-FileServer                  Available
        [ ] BranchCache for Network Files      FS-BranchCache                 Available
        [ ] Data Deduplication                 FS-Data-Deduplication          Available
        [ ] DFS Namespaces                     FS-DFS-Namespace               Available
        [ ] DFS Replication                    FS-DFS-Replication             Available
        [ ] File Server Resource Manager       FS-Resource-Manager            Available
        [ ] File Server VSS Agent Service      FS-VSS-Agent                   Available
        [ ] iSCSI Target Server                FS-iSCSITarget-Server          Available
        [ ] iSCSI Target Storage Provider (... iSCSITarget-VSS-VDS            Available
        [ ] Server for NFS                     FS-NFS-Service                 Available
    [X] Storage Services                       Storage-Services               Installed

For example, you can use the following command to implement Storage Spaces on server HOST7 by installing the File Server role service:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name FS-FileServer -ComputerName HOST7 - Restart

Afterward, you can use the following command to verify installation of the role service:

PS C:\> Get-WindowsFeature -ComputerName HOST7 | where DisplayName -eq "File Server"

Display Name                          Name                       Install State
------------                          ----                       -------------
        [X] File Server               FS-FileServer                  Installed