Microsoft Virtual Labs. Windows Server 2003 R2: Efficient Storage Management

Microsoft

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Virtual Labs

Windows Server 2003 R2:

Efficient Storage Management

Table of Contents

Windows Server 2003 R2: Efficient Storage Management... 1

Exercise 1 Using the Storage Manager for SANs Snap-in Console ...2

Exercise 2 Create LUNs ...4

Exercise 3 Using File Server Resource Manager ...5

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Windows Server 2003 R2: Efficient Storage

Management

Objectives

After completing this lab, you will be better able to:

ƒ Use the Storage Manager for SANs Snap-in Console.

ƒ Customize the interface as an administrator of the SAN environment.

ƒ Complete the Create LUN (Logical Unit) wizard.

ƒ Use the Create LUN wizard to create a LUN on either a Fibre Channel or iSCSI sub-system.

ƒ Use the File Server Resource Manager.

ƒ Open the Server Resource Manager snap-in console.

ƒ Navigate the work areas in the console.

ƒ Perform storage management tasks.

Scenario

Storage area networks (SANs) offer the benefits of centralized storage, but for many small and midsize companies, those benefits have simply been too expensive to take on—both in terms of cost and complexity. But with newer solutions such as storage over IP (which makes use of existing Ethernet

infrastructure and network expertise) and the shift toward simpler Fibre Channel SAN solutions (both fully supported by Microsoft), many more organizations are able to invest in SAN technologies than was previously possible.

The new Microsoft Storage Manager for SANs, introduced in Windows Server 2003 R2, offers IT administrators basic SAN functionality without requiring the specialized consulting services typically needed for successful deployment and trouble-free maintenance of storage area networks.

In addition to facilitating SAN integration, Windows Server 2003 R2 also includes the File Server Resource Manager. As organizational data grows, IT administrators face the increasingly difficult challenge of effectively managing storage resources throughout the organization. Responsible for ensuring that data is both protected and available, as well for providing more effective storage services despite tightly controlled costs, the IT administrator shoulders a burden that spans capacity management, policy regulation, and quota management.

The File Services Resource Manager, new to Windows Server 2003 R2, is designed to directly address these storage management challenges.

Estimated Time to

Complete This Lab

75 Minutes

Computer used in this Lab

AdatumDC

The password for the Administrator account on this computer is: pass@word1

Exercise 1

Using the Storage Manager for SANs Snap-in Console

Scenario

In this exercise, you will view the Storage Manager for SANs Microsoft^® Management Console (MMC) snap-in, and customize the interface as an administrator of the SAN environment.

Tasks Detailed Steps

1. Launch the Storage Manager for SANs console.

a. Click Start | Administrative Tools | Storage Manager for SANs.

Note: If, at any point, you encounter an error that requires you to close Microsoft Management Console, use the preceding steps to establish a new console with snap-in before continuing.

2. Configure server connections.

a. Expand Storage Manager for SANs (Local), and select LUN Management.

b. Once the node has completely loaded, right-click LUN Management, and select Manage Server Connections.

c. In the top list, notice the AdatumDC server is already in the list.

Note: This is the local server. To add additional servers, you could use the Add Server button. You can browse to the server or enter the server’s hostname, and the server will be discovered.

d. Click Manage Clusters.

Note: For a clustered environment, you would want to create a server group, and assign a LUN to the server group.

e. Click Cancel.

f. On the lower half of this screen, ensure that you are viewing the Fibre Channel Ports tab.

For connecting to a Fibre Channel sub-system, use the Fibre Channel tab to enable HBA ports for use with LUNs. The Fibre Channel tab lists all HBA ports that are available on the selected server or server group. Notice the check box in the Enable column. This is used for turning ports on or off.

g. Select the top most HBA port in the list. Click the Edit button.

h. Enter Connection to RAID Box in the Description field (if in a provisioning scenario, click Add Ports to configure additional HBA ports on the server). Click OK.

Note: If a server supports Microsoft Multipath I/O (MPIO), you can enable multiple ports, which can be used to provide path failover. For Fibre Channel connections, before you enable more than one port on a server, make sure that the server supports MPIO. If MPIO is not supported, data might be corrupted. This is not needed for an iSCSI sub-system: the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator service supports MPIO.

i. Click the iSCSI Initiator tab.

The iSCSI initiator name is displayed (if the iSCSI initiator name had not been displayed, you would need to type in the initiator name, and click Refresh Adapters to display the available iSCSI adapters).

j. In this case, we have just a single adapter, which is already enabled. Click OK to continue.

Note: On a Fibre Channel sub-system, no additional configuration is needed before creating LUNs.

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Tasks Detailed Steps

an iSCSI SAN. node, right-click LUN Management and click Manage iSCSI targets (you can also select it from the Action pane).

b. Notice there is only one sub-system available called iSCSI_Subsystem.

c. Click Add, and in the Target Friendly Name field, type Target Name.

d. Below the Target Friendly Name field, you will see the list of available portals on the sub-system. Select the top check box on the left. This will enable that portal for LUN I/O from the new target. Once this has been enabled, click OK.

e. Notice that the Manage iSCSI Targets dialog box shows the new target, with the enabled ports listed at the bottom.

f. Click Close.

4. Configure iSCSI security.

a. If you want to configure iSCSI security for a remote server, connect to that computer. In the tree, right-click the Storage Management for SANs(Local) node and select Connect to another computer. For this exercise, we will not be connecting to another computer.

b. Click Cancel.

c. In the tree for Storage Manager for SANs(Local), right-click the LUN Management node, and select Manage iSCSI security.

d. To configure one-way CHAP authentication (in which the target authenticates the initiator), select the target you want to configure—in this case Target Name—

then click the Set Secret button.

e. In the Target Secret field, type LONGCHAPPASS and then type again in the Confirm field. Any initiator who knows the target secret will be able to log on to the target.

f. Click OK.

g. Click the Local Initiator tab. To configure CHAP authentication of targets to the local initiator, we simply enter and confirm the CHAP secret for the initiator.

h. In the Initiator Secret box, type 123456123456.

i. In the Confirm box, type 123456123456.

j. Select the check box next to Target Name.

k. Click Apply Secret. On the success message, click OK.

Note: The CHAP passwords used both on this page and on the Targets page require a minimum password length of 12 characters. Under mutual CHAP authentication, the initiator will only be able to log on to targets that know the initiator secret. . l. When you finish exploring iSCSI security, click Close.

5. Establish login sessions between the initiator and targets (iSCSI only).

a. Once again, right-click LUN Management. This time click Log on to iSCSI Targets.

b. In the list of targets at the top, select each target with which you want to establish a login session. In this case, ensure that Target Name is selected. When the log on session is established with the targets, the server will be able to access all LUNs assigned to the targets.

c. Press the Log On button.

Because this is just a simulation, the login will fail, but you have seen the steps necessary to establish login sessions between the initiator and targets.

d. On the failure message, click OK.

e. On the Log On To iSCSI Target window, click Close.

Exercise 2

Create LUNs

Scenario

In this exercise, you will:

• Complete the Create LUN (Logical Unit) wizard.

• Use the Create LUN wizard to create a LUN on either a Fibre Channel or iSCSI sub-system, and optionally assign server access to the LUN. If you are creating a LUN locally, you also can optionally configure an NTFS volume for the LUN.

Tasks Detailed Steps

1. Create and assign a LUN.

a. In the Storage Management for SANs(Local) tree, right-click the LUN Management node, and click Create LUN.

b. On the Before You Begin page, click Next.

c. On the Subsystem and Type page, under Select a subsystem, select FC_Subsystem.

d. Under Select one of the following available LUN types, select Striped with parity and click Next.

e. On the Size and Name screen, in the Type a name for the new LUN field, type sampleLUN, assign 1 GB and click Next.

You can increase/decrease the size above based on available free HDD space.

f. On the Server Access screen, click to select the radio button next to Assign the LUN now, and then click Next.

g. On the Create Volume page, ensure the following boxes are checked:

• Create a volume on the LUN

• Assign drive letter

• Format volume

• Quick format h. Click Next.

i. Review the settings and click Create LUN.

2. Monitoring the status of LUNcreation.

a. To monitor the status of the LUN while it is being created, refer to the Status column on the results pane.

While the LUN is being created, the column shows the percentage of the LUN that has been created. When the operation is complete, the task status changes to Online.

b. If LUN creation fails, you can click the LUN entry in the results pane to display failure information in the description area below it.

The process of creating a LUN can take minutes or hours. It is recommended that you do not close the Storage Manager for SANs console while a LUN is being created. If the sessions ends before the process completes, you might not be able to determine the completion status for the LUN.

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Exercise 3

Using File Server Resource Manager

Scenario

This section tells you how to open and use the Server Resource Manager snap-in console. The following tasks are included:

• Open the Server Resource Manager snap-in console.

• Navigate the work areas in the console.

• Perform storage management tasks.

Tasks Detailed Steps

1. Launch the File Server Resource Manager Console.

a. Click Start | Administrative Tools |File Server Resource Manager.

2. Use the File Server Resource Manager Console.

a. Expand the File Server Resource Manager (Local) node which contains three snap ins:

• Quota Management

• File Screening Management

• Storage Reports Management 3. Configure e-mail

notifications.

When you create quotas and file screens, you can configure e- mail notifications to be sent when quota limits approach, or when users attempt to save files that have been blocked.

a. In the tree, right-click File Server Resource Manager (Local), and click Configure Options to open the File Server Resource Manager Options dialog box.

b. On the Email Notifications tab, under SMTP server name or IP address, enter 192.168.0.1 (the hostname or the IP address of the SMTP server that will forward e-mail notifications would all have been successful).

c. To routinely notify certain administrators of quota or file screening events, type admin@adatum.com in the Default administrator recipients field.

d. In the Default “From” e-mail address field, type admin@adatum.com.

e. To test your settings, click Send Test E-mail.

f. Click OK to acknowledge the Test E-mail was sent.

g. Click OK to close the Storage Resource Manager Options window.

4. Create a quota template.

a. In the tree for File Server Resource Manager (Local), expand Quota Management, and select the Quota Templates node.

b. Right-click Quota Templates.

c. Click Create Quota Template.

This opens the Create Quota Template dialog box

d. To identify the new template, type sampleTemplate in the Template Name field and sampleTemplateLabel as the optional label.

e. Under Limit, the default should be 100MB.

f. In the Notification thresholds list, highlight the Limit (100%) threshold and click Edit. This opens the Limit Properties dialog box.

g. Select the Send e-mail to the following administrators check box. For purposes of this lab, enter admin@adatum.com

h. Click to select the Send e-mail to the user who exceeded the threshold check

Tasks Detailed Steps box.

i. Review the Subject and Message Body for variables currently defined for this threshold.

j. Click the Event Log tab and click to select the Send warning to event log check box

k. Review the Log Entry variables.

l. Click OK to save the threshold. You may need to move the window or taskbar to see OK.

m. In the Notification Thresholds area, click Add.

n. At the top of the Add Threshold dialog box, in the Generate notifications when usage reaches % field, type 85.

o. Review the E-Mail Message, Event Log, Command, and Reports tabs and click OK. You may need to move the window or taskbar to see OK.

p. Click OK to save the template.

5. Create an auto quota and monitoring quota use.

a. In the tree for File Server Resource Manager (Local), expand Quota Management, and select the Quotas node.

b. Right-click Quotas and click Create quota, or select Create quota from the Actions pane. This opens the Create Quota dialog box.

c. In the Quota path field, type or browse to P:\Projects to which the quota will apply.

d. Under the radio button Derive properties from this quota template, select the sampleTemplate template. You can review the properties of each quota template in the summary list box.

e. Click Create.

f. To view quota information in the console, in the tree, expand Quota Management, and then click Quotas.

6. Work with file groups.

Before you begin working with file screens, you need to understand the role of file groups in determining which files are screened. A file group is used to define a namespace for a file screen, file screen exception, or storage report.

A file group consists of a set of file name patterns, which are grouped into files to include and files to exclude:

Files to include select files that belong in the group.

Files to exclude select files that do not belong in the group.

For example, an Audio Files file group might include the following file name patterns:

Files to include: *.mp*—includes all audio files created in current and future MPEG formats (MP2, MP3, and so forth).

Files to exclude: *.mpp—excludes files created in Microsoft Project (.mpp files), which would otherwise be included by the *.mp* member.

a. In the File Server Resource Manager (Local) tree, expand the File Screening Management node, and select the File Groups node.

b. Right-click File Groups and select Create file group.

c. In the File group name field, type Test Files.

d. In the Member files field, type *.tst, and click Add.

e. Click OK.

7. Create a file screen.

In the following procedure, you

a. From the tree for File Server Resource Manager (Local), expand File Screening Management.

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Tasks Detailed Steps

in the process save a file screen template based on the custom file screen properties that you defined. The new template will be applied to file screen so that a link is maintained between the file screen and the template. You can use the same method for creating a quota template.

c. Right-click File Screens.

d. Click Create File Screen.

e. In the File screen path field, type or browse to E:\SRM Demo setup\demofiles.

f. Under How do you want to configure file screen properties?, select the Define custom file screen properties option.

g. Click Custom Properties.

h. Select the default template Block Audio and Video Files, and click Copy.

i. Under Screening type, select Active screening.

j. On the E-mail Message tab, select the check box Send e-mail to the following administrators, and type admin@adatum.com.

k. On the Event Log tab, select the Send warning to event log check box, and review the default Log entry.

l. Click OK to close the File Screen Properties window.

m. On the Create File Screen window, click Create to save the file screen.

n. Select Save the custom properties as a template, and type FSTemplate for the Template name. Click OK.

8. Create a file screen exception.

Occasionally, you will need to be able to allow exceptions to file screening for certain folders.

a. In the tree for File Server Resource Manager (Local), expand File Screening Management.

b. Select the File Screens node.

c. Right-click File Screens and select Create File Screen Exception.

d. Under Exception path, type or select E:\SRM Demo setup.

e. In the File groups area, check the check box for Image Files.

f. Click Edit.

g. Click OK.

h. Click OK to accept the creation of the File Screen Exception.

9. Schedule a set of reports.

a. In the tree for File Server Resource Manager (Local), select the Storage Reports Management node.

b. Right-click Storage Reports Management, and click Schedule a New Report Task.

c. In the Scope area, click Add.

d. Browse to P:\Projects and click OK.

e. In the Report Data area, select Large Files and click Edit Parameters.

f. In the Report Parameters dialog box, review Minimum file size and click OK.

g. On the Delivery tab, click to select the Send reports to the following administrators check box and type admin@adatum.com in the field.

h. On the Schedule tab, click Create Schedule.

i. In the Schedule dialog box, click New.

j. Review the default schedule set for 9:00a.m. daily starting on the day after the system date and click OK

k. To save the report task, click OK.

10. Generating reports. a. Right-click Storage Reports Management, and click Generate reports now.

b. In the Scope area, click Add, browse to P:\Projects and click OK.

c. In the Report data area, check and highlight Large Files.

d. In the Report formats area, click to select XML.

e. On the Delivery tab, click to select the Send reports to the following

Tasks Detailed Steps

administrators check box and type admin@adatum.com.

f. Click OK.

g. Select Wait for reports to be generated and then display them, and click OK.

h. Internet Explorer will open to display the report. When you are finished examining the report, close the browser window.