Lab: Implementing storage solutions in Windows Server

At Contoso, Ltd., you need to implement the Storage Spaces feature on the Windows Server 2019 servers to simplify storage access and provide redundancy at the storage level. Management wants you to test Data Deduplication to save storage. They also want you to implement Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) storage to provide a simpler solution for deploying storage in the organization. Additionally, the organization is exploring options for making storage highly available and researching the requirements that it must meet for high availability. You want to test the feasibility of using highly available storage, specifically Storage Spaces Direct.

After completing this lab, you’ll be able to:

• Implement Data Deduplication.
• Configure Internet Small Computer System Interface iSCSI storage.
• Configure Storage Spaces.
• Implement Storage Spaces Direct.

Virtual machines:

• For Exercises 1-3: WS-011T00A-SEA-DC1, WS-011T00A-SEA-SVR3, and WS-011T00A-SEA-ADM1
• For Exercise 4: WS-011T00A-SEA-DC1, WS-011T00A-SEA-SVR1, WS-011T00A-SEA-SVR2, WS-011T00A-SEA-SVR3, and WS-011T00A-SEA-ADM1

Username: Contoso\Administrator Password: Pa55w.rd

Note: You must revert the virtual machines (VM) between each exercise. Because most of the VMs are Windows Server 2019 Server Core VMs, the time to revert and restart is faster than trying to undo changes made to the storage environment in the exercises.

You decide to install the Data Deduplication role service by using Server Manager. You determine that drive M is heavily used, and you suspect that it contains duplicate files in some folders. You decide to enable and configure the Data Deduplication role to reduce the consumed space on this volume.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

1. Install the Data Deduplication feature on SEA-SVR3.
2. Enable and configure Data Deduplication on drive M on SEA-SVR3.
3. Test Data Deduplication by adding files and observing deduplication.

1. On SEA-ADM1, in Server Manager, add the Data Deduplication role to SEA-SVR3 (under File and Storage Services, and then under File and iSCSI Services).

2. Share the (SEA-ADM1) C:\Labfiles folder adding the Users group with Read access.

3. On SEA-SVR3, in Windows PowerShell, create a virtual disk on SEA-SVR3 from disk 1, and label it drive M. Use the following commands to complete this:

   Get-Disk
   
   Initialize-Disk -Number 1
   
   New-Partition -DiskNumber 1 -UseMaximumSize -DriveLetter M
   
   Format-Volume -DriveLetter M -FileSystem ReFS
   
   

4. Exit Windows PowerShell and map drive X to \\SEA-ADM1\Labfiles (NET USE), and then in the drive X:, browse to cd Mod04, and then get a directory listing.

5. In the Windows PowerShell command window, enter M:

6. Enter MD Data

7. Copy x:\mod04\createlabfiles.cmd M:.

8. Enter the CreateLabFiles.cmd.

9. Enter cd data, then enter dir.

10. Notice that M:\Data has free space. Make note of the amount in bytes.

1. Return to SEA-ADM1.

2. In Server Manager, select File and Storage Services, and then on SEA-SVR3, select Disks.

3. Select the 1 disk, and then select the M volume.

4. Enable Data Deduplication, and then select the General purpose file server setting.

5. Configure the following settings:

   • Deduplicate files older than (in days): 0
   • Enable throughput optimization: Selected

1. On SEA-ADM1, open WAC.

2. Connect to SEA-SVR3, and then open the PowerShell node.

3. Execute the following command to start Data Deduplication process, and then select Enter:

   Start-DedupJob m: -Type Optimization –Memory 50

4. Switch to SEA-SVR3. In the Command Prompt window, enter Dir. Observe the Bytes free size on property values for the Data Directory.

5. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the deduplication job to run.

6. Switch back to the Windows PowerShell window on SEA-ADM1.

7. To verify the Data Deduplication status, run the following commands, selecting Enter at the end of each line:

   Get-DedupStatus –Volume M: | fl
   
   Get-DedupVolume –Volume M: |fl
   
   Get-DedupMetadata –Volume M: |fl
   

8. In Server Manager, select File and Storage Services, select Disk 1, and then select Volume M (You might have to refresh).

9. Observe the values for Deduplication Rate and Deduplication Savings.

10. Close all open windows except Server Manager.

When you have finished the exercise, revert the VMs to their initial state.

Executives at Contoso are exploring the option of using iSCSI to decrease the cost and complexity of configuring centralized storage. To test this, you must install and configure the iSCSI targets, and configure the iSCSI initiators to provide access to the targets.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

1. Install iSCSI and configure targets on SEA-SVR3.
2. Connect to and configure iSCSI targets from SEA-DC1 (initiator).
3. Verify iSCSI disk presence by copying and moving files.

1. On SEA-ADM1, open a Windows PowerShell window.

2. Enter the following command, and then select Enter:

   Invoke-Command -ComputerName SEA-SVR3 -ScriptBlock {Install-WindowsFeature –Name FS-iSCSITarget-Server –IncludeManagementTools}

3. On SEA-ADM1, open a remote Windows PowerShell session to SEA-SVR3 as Contoso\Administrator.

4. Use Windows PowerShell to initialize, create, and format a volume as Resilient File System (ReFS) on the two offline disks (disks 2 and 3) on SEA-SVR3 (where X refers to the drive number). Use the following three commands, selecting Enter after each line:

   Initialize-Disk -Number <X>
   New-Partition -DiskNumber <X> -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter

   Note the drive letter it assigns because you’ll be using it in the next command.

   Format-Volume -DriveLetter <X> -FileSystem ReFS

5. Use Windows PowerShell to create an inbound and outbound Firewall exception for port 3260. Use the following commands, selecting Enter at the end of each line:

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "iSCSITargetIn" -Profile "Any" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 3260

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "iSCSITargetOut" -Profile "Any" -Direction Outbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 3260
   

Note: Word wrap is used to display the previous command. Don’t use word wrap when entering the command in Windows PowerShell.

6. Close the remote session but keep Windows PowerShell open.

1. On SEA-ADM1, in the Server Manager window, in File and Storage Services, under Disks, select the SEA-DC1 server. Note that it only contains the boot and system volume drive C.

2. In Server Manager, in File and Storage Services, under iSCSI, select the SEA-SVR3 server.

3. Create a new iSCSI virtual disk with the following settings:

   • Storage Location: E:
   • Name: iSCSIDisk1
   • Disk size: 5 GB, Dynamically Expanding
   • iSCSI target: New
   • Target name: iSCSIFarm
   • Access servers: SEA-DC1 (Browse and check names)

4. Create a second iSCSI virtual disk with the following settings:

   • Storage Location: F:
   • Name: iSCSIDisk2
   • Disk size: 5 GB, Dynamically Expanding
   • iSCSI target: iSCSIFarm

5. On SEA-DC1, open Windows PowerShell, enter the following commands, selecting Enter at the end of each line:

   Start-Service msiscsi
   
   iscsicpl

Note: The iscsicpl command will open an iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box.

6. Connect to the following iSCSI target:

   • Name: SEA-SVR3
   • Target name: iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:SEA-SVR3-fileserver-target

1. In Server Manager, on SEA-ADM1, in the tree pane, select File and Storage Services, and then select Disks.
2. Notice the two new 5-gigabyte (GB) disks on the SEA-DC1 server that are offline. Notice that the bus entry is iSCSI. (If you’re in the File and Storage Services section of Server Manager, you might need to select the refresh button to open the two new disks.)

Note: When you have finished the exercise, revert the VMs to their initial state.

To meet some requirements for high availability, you decided to evaluate redundancy options in Storage Spaces. Additionally, you want to test the provisioning of new disks to the storage pool.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

1. Create a storage pool by using the iSCSI disks attached to SEA-SVR3.
2. Create a three-way mirrored disk on SEA-SVR3.
3. Copy a file to the volume on the three-way mirror, and verify it’s present in File Explorer.
4. Disconnect the disk and verify file availability.
5. Add a new disk to storage pool.

Note: In Windows Server 2019, you can’t disconnect a disk in a storage pool. You can only remove it. You also can’t remove a disk from a three-way mirror without adding a new disk first.

1. On SEA-ADM1, open Server Manager.
2. In Server Manager, in File and Storage Services, select Disks.
3. Set the disks 1-4 for SEA-SVR3 to Online.
4. In Server Manager, on SEA-SVR3, create a new storage pool named SP1.
5. Use three of the four available disks to make up the pool.

1. In Server Manager, in Storage Pools, in SP1, create a new virtual disk named Three-Mirror that uses a mirror storage layout, and thin provisioning. Use 25 GB for the size.
2. Create a new volume from Three–Mirror named TestData.
3. Format it as ReFS, and assign it drive letter T.
4. Close Server Manager.

1. Switch to SEA-SVR3.

2. In Windows PowerShell, enter the following command, and then select Enter:

   netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes
   

3. Switch back to SEA-ADM1. In the File Explorer window, in the Address bar, enter \sea-svr3\t$.

4. Create a new folder named Test Data, and then create a new document named Document1.txt in that folder.

1. In Server Manager, on SEA-ADM1, add a new physical disk to storage pool SP1. Ensure the disk uses automatic allocation.
2. Remove the top disk in the PHYSICAL DISKS pane from the storage pool.
3. Return to Document1.txt, add some text, and then save it.

1. In Server Manager, re-scan the SP1 storage pool.
2. Add the disk you removed earlier, ensuring it’s allocated automatically.
3. Open Document1.txt, add some more text, and then save it.
4. Switch back to SEA-SVR3.
5. On drive T, in the new Test Data folder, open Document1.txt.
6. Close all open windows.

When you have finished the exercise, revert the VMs to their initial state.

You want to test whether using local storage as highly available storage is a viable solution for your organization. Previously, your organization has only used storage area networks (SANs) for storing VMs. The new features in Windows Server 2019 make it possible to use only local storage, so you want to implement Storage Spaces Direct as a test implementation.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

1. Install the Storage Spaces Direct Failover Clustering features.
2. Create and validate the failover cluster.
3. Enable Storage Spaces Direct.
4. Create the storage pool, a virtual disk, and a share.
5. Verify that Storage Spaces Direct functions properly.

1. On SEA-ADM1, open Server Manager.

2. Ensure all servers refer to Manageability of Online-Performance counters not started.

3. In Server Manager, in the navigation pane, select File and Storage Services, and then select Disks.

4. In the Disks pane, scroll until you find *SEA-SVR3, disks 1 through 4, and note that they are set to Unknown.

5. Right-click or access the context menu for each offline disk, select Bring Online, and then in the Bring Disk Online window, select Yes.

6. Verify that all disks are online for SEA-SVR1 and SEA-SVR2.

7. Open Windows PowerShell ISE and load the C:\Labfiles\Mod04\Implement-StorageSpacesDirect.ps1 script.

   Note: This script is divided into numbered steps. There are eight steps, and each step has a number of commands. Run the commands by highlighting each and selecting F8, one after the other in accordance with the following instructions. Ensure each step finishes, that is, goes from Stop operation (a red square) to Run selection (a green arrow) in the menu bar, before starting the next step.

8. Run the commands in Step 1. This command installs the Failover Clustering role service on SEA-SVR1, SEA-SVR2 and SEA-SVR3. The second command restarts the three servers, which is required to complete the install, and the third command installs the Failover Cluster Manager console on SEA-ADM1.

   Note: When you start the second command to restart the servers, you can run the third command to install the console without waiting for the second command’s restarts to finish.

1. On SEA-ADM1, start the Failover Cluster Manager tool.
2. In Windows PowerShell ISE, run the step 2 command, which will take approximately 5 minutes to finish.
3. Ensure the output only includes nothing greater than warnings.
4. In Windows PowerShell ISE, run the step 3 command.
5. When the command completes, return to Failover Cluster Manager, and add the cluster named S2DCluster.Contoso.com.

1. In Windows PowerShell ISE, run the step 4 command, which will take approximately 5 minutes to finish.
2. Run the step 5 command, which creates the S2DStoragePool storage pool.
3. Return to the Failover Cluster Manager, and then observe the Cluster Pool 1 object in Pools.
4. Return to Windows PowerShell ISE, and run the step 6 command, which creates the CSV file system.
5. Return to the Failover Cluster Manager, and then observe the Cluster Virtual Disk (CSV) object in Disks.

1. In Windows PowerShell ISE, run the step 7 command, which creates the S2D-SOFS service role.
2. Return to the Failover Cluster Manager, and then observe the S2D-SOFS object in Roles.
3. Return to Windows PowerShell ISE, and run all three commands in Step 8 simultaneously to create the VM01 share. To run them simultaneously, highlight all three and then select F8.
4. Return to the Failover Cluster Manager, and then observe the VM01 object in Shares.

1. On SEA-ADM1, in File Explorer, open \s2d-sofs\VM01 and create a folder named VMFolder.

2. In Windows PowerShell ISE, enter the following command, and then select Enter:

   Stop-Computer -ComputerName SEA-SVR3

3. Return to Server Manager and confirm SEA-SVR3 is included in the list of All Servers.

4. Return to the Failover Cluster Manager, and then observe the Cluster Virtual Disk (CSV) information in the Disks node. (Notice the Health Status is set to Warning, and the Operational Status is Degraded.)

5. On SEA-ADM1, open the Windows Admin Console (WAC).

6. If required, sign in as Contoso\Administrator with a password of Pa55w.rd.

7. On the All connections page, select + Add.

8. Scroll to find and select Windows Server Cluster, and then enter S2DCluster.Contoso.com as the cluster name.

9. Notice that the pass-through credentials will be denied; however, you can manually add the same account for the connection. Reenter the sign-in information Contoso\Administrator with a password of Pa55w.rd in the other credentials area.

10. Notice that the scroll to select completion feature won’t work, so simply select Enter.

11. Don’t add the other servers in the cluster as they are already registered in WAC.

12. Note the cluster has a critical error because SEA-SVR3 is offline. Start SEA-SVR3.

13. After a few minutes, verify that the alert clears.

14. Close all windows and revert the VMs.

After completing this lab, you will have:

• Tested the implementation of Data Deduplication.
• Installed and configured iSCSI storage.
• Configured redundant Storage Spaces.
• Tested the implementation of Storage Spaces Direct.