Overview In this blog post, we’ll cover the basics of the Distributed File System (DFS) in Windows Server 2008, which offers users simplified access to a set of file shares and helps administrators easily maintain the file server infrastructure behind those file shares, including options for load ...

I am installing Windows Server 2008 on a new server that has no video card and no DVD drive. It's an interesting challenge to make that one work and I'm relying on using a bootable USB disk and unattend files. In my case, it turns out the server has a USB interface and using USB to bo...

Overview In this post, I will show all the steps required to run Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target. We will cover the specific scenario of a standalone Windows Server 2008 server (as opposed to a clustered one) on a full install (as opposed to a core install) and u...

Everyone is talking about <it> and we have the tools for <it>. Microsoft Windows, for instance, does <it> via Updates, which are also known as hotfixes or QFEs. If <it> is critical and urgent, Windows Updates can deliver <it> automatically. Large amounts of <it> c...

Overview A recent presentation during SNIA’s Storage Developer Conference described an upcoming tool called “FSCT�.“FSCT� (which stands for “File Server Capacity Tool�) was created by Microsoft after analyzing the workload of production file servers used to store user’s home folders....

Overview In a previous blog post, I described 5 different ways to implement Windows Server Failover Clustering with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Those options included: Parent-based Failover Clustering with two physical servers, Child-based Failover Clustering with two physical servers, Mixed Physic...

It’s very common for a server running Windows Unified Data Storage Server and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target to include a RAID controller and many hard drives in the box. I got a question on exactly how to configure RAID volumes for this kind of setup. The standard “it depends� engineerin...

I spent last week in Orlando, Florida, working at the Microsoft booth in the Storage Networking World. I delivered one of the demos there and my demo included the following technologies: Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 iSCSI Software Target Windows Server 2008 Core Install Windows...

I’m always amazed by the vast amount of knowledge being posted online for free download. If you are an IT Professional who deals with Storage (or if you manage one of them), check out the high-quality tutorials just posted online by the Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA). These peer-...

I’m always amazed with the vast amount of knowledge being posted online for free download.If you are in the Storage business, you should check the high-quality tutorials offered by SNIA (Storage Network Industry Association).These tutorials, offered by the SNIA Education Committee, cover a variety...