Windows 7 / Networking

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Volume-Based NTFS Quota Management

Quotas can be enabled and configured at the volume level and applied to user and group objects. This is the same quota management included with Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Window Server 2008 R2. Quotas enabled at the volume will be calculated based on all files saved to the volume by a particular user who is not part of the server administrators group. Volume quotas can only be enabled on NTFS volumes and cannot be applied to any lower level, such as a subfolder. The key to a successful implementation of quotas on a volume is setting the correct file permissions for the entire volume and folders and to limit the data transferred to a volume for an end user by a third party, such as a desktop or server administrator.

The steps required to enable and implement quotas based on folders and not an entire volume are detailed later in the tutorial in the "Configuring Quotas with File Server Resource Manager" section. The quota management features available in the File Server Resource Manager are different from the features included with NTFS volume quotas; Table-1 details the differences.

TABLE-1 Quota Differences Between FSRM and NTFS

Quota Capabilities	FSRM Quotas	NTFS Quotas
Quota tracking	By folder or by volume	Per user on a specific volume only
Calculation of storage usage	By actual disk space used	By the logical file size on the volume
Notification method	By email, custom reports, and event log entries	By event log only

NOTE: Prior to the release of FSRM, organizations used to depend on NTFS volume quotas or third-party products to provide their quota storage management capabilities; however, FSRM has effectively replaced the use of NTFS volume quotas. The coverage of NTFS volume quotas in this section is merely to describe the process and use of NTFS volume quotas; however, most organizations should consider using FSRM quotas and should avoid using NTFS volume quotas or both types because they are not complementary to each other.

To enable quotas for an NTFS volume, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator privileges.
2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Server Manager.
3. In the tree pane, double-click the Storage node, and select Disk Management.
4. In the tasks pane, scroll down to locate the desired volume, right-click the volume, and select Properties.
5. Select the Quota tab and check the Enable Quota Management check box.
6. Enter the appropriate quota limit and warning thresholds and decide whether users will be denied write access when the limit is reached.
7. Click OK to complete the quota configuration for the NTFS volume.
8. A window opens, prompting you to confirm the enabling of quotas; click OK to enable the quota and scan the volume to update quota statistics.
9. After you configure quotas, open the properties of the volume, select the Quota tab, and click the Quota Entries button to review the existing quotas based on data already stored on the volume.