Windows 7 / Getting Started

---

File Server Resource Manager

Windows Server 2008 includes the File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) component that is part of the File Server role. Data storage is getting cheaper and disk sizes are increasing, leading to the "just buy more disk space" mindset. However, the physical disk space is not the most expensive component of storing data. For many companies, data is the most important company asset and must be securely stored and recoverable. Managing data can cost three times as much as the physical storage devices, so although the disks might be cheap, the effort to maintain the data is not. As more data is created, the cost of management increases accordingly. This increase in total cost of ownership (TCO) leads to a number of customer requirements for the next release of Windows:

• Better reporting capabilities to identify how storage is being used
• Allow more granular controls on how storage can be used
• Define quotas on folders and volumes that consider actual disk space usage
• Easy-to-use tools to implement the new functionality

Three core components make up the FSRM, each building upon the last. Before we discuss components, let's install it.

Installation

The FSRM component is one of the optional services of the File Services role. To install it, perform the following:

1. Launch Server Manager (Administrative Tools, Server Manager).
2. Navigate to Roles in the navigation pane and select File Services.
3. Click Add Role Services.
4. Select File Server Resource Manager.
5. FSRM allows you to choose to monitor the overall disk usage of volumes local to the server. FSRM can notify relevant parties, such as the administrators, that a disk is nearly full. By default, both Files by Owner and Files by File Type reports are triggered when a partition reaches 85% of capacity. Report triggers can be changed by clicking the Edit button.
6. If volumes were selected for usage monitoring, the notification options must be selected. These options include a folder to write the reports to, an e-mail address to send the reports to, and an SMTP server to transmit the mail messages.
7. A summary of the options selected is displayed. Confirm your choices by clicking Install, which starts installing the FSRM component. The install progress is shown on screen. After it is complete, click the Close button.

NOTE: For those who used FSRM under Windows 2003 R2, you no longer have to reboot to ensure the drivers are correctly placed in the I/O stack.

During installation, two application services and two mini-filter file system drivers are installed:

• DataScrn (datascren.sys): A kernel-mode mini-filter file system driver that implements file screening checks in real time on configured volumes and folders.
• Quota (quota.sys): A kernel-mode mini-filter file system driver that implements quota checks in real time on configured volumes and folders.
• SrmSvc (srmsvc.dll): An application-type service running as a stand-alone process. It is seen as File Server Resource Manager and starts automatically on system startup.
• SrmReports (srmhost.exe): An application-type service running as a stand-alone process. It is seen as File Server Storage Reports Manager and is configured to be manually started when scheduled reports are configured.

FSRM configuration is stored in the System Volume Information\SRM folder for each volume in metadata files. This configuration is read and processed by the drivers at startup in conjunction with information from the main SrmSvc service after it has started. The configuration is then cached in memory. In the event of a change in the quota or file screen entries, the SrmSvc service notifies the mini-filter of the new entry set. Likewise, if the quota mini-filter file system driver detects that a folder is created or deleted, it notifies SrmSvc to update any quota entries that might be affected. You never need to access this system volume information. All configuration is via the MMC snap-in and the command-line tools. The three tools are dirquota.exe for quotas, filescrn.exe to manage file screening, and storrept.exe for storage reporting needs. Configuration is backed up by NTBACKUP as part of system state and other backup utilities that take advantage of the FSRM VSS writer.

After FSRM is installed, it is administered via the File Server Resource Manager MMC snap-in, placed in the Administrative Tools folder. The navigation pane of the MMC shows the three functionality areas of FSRM: Quota Management, File Screening Management, and Storage Reports Management.

If the root FSRM item is selected in the navigation pane, one of the actions in the actions pane is Configure Options. You can also access Configure Options via the Action menu of the MMC. Also notice that you can connect to another FSRM server for easy remote management via the actions pane or the Actions menu by selecting Connect to Another Computer.