Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Managing shared storage

After you provision shared storage using Storage Spaces, you need to manage your shared storage. You can use both Server Manager and Windows PowerShell to manage shared storage in your environment. Your management tasks will include the following:

• Managing storage pools
• Managing virtual disks
• Managing volumes
• Managing shares

The sections that follow focus on using Server Manager for managing shared storage. For help with using Windows PowerShell to manage shared storage, see the cmdlet reference for the Storage module at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh848705.

Managing storage pools

You can use the Storage Pools subpage of the File And Storage Services page in Server Manager to manage your storage pools-for example:

• Clicking on the Tasks control of the Storage Pools tile, allows you to create new storage pools or refresh the current view. Right-clicking on open space in the Storage Pools tile also lets you perform the same tasks.
• Right-clicking on an existing storage pool in the Storage Pools tile lets you view the properties of the pool, add more physical disks to the pool if available, create a new virtual disk from the pool, or delete the storage pool as long as all of its virtual disks have been deleted.
  You can also use the Storage Pool tile on the Disks subpage to quickly determine how much capacity has been used in a storage pool.

Managing virtual disks

You can use the Storage Pools subpage of the File And Storage Services page in Server Manager to manage your virtual disks. For example, by right-clicking on a virtual disk in the Virtual Disks tile, you can perform tasks such as creating a new volume on the disk, repairing the disk, extending the disk, or deleting the disk. Some options might be unavailable, depending on such things as the status of the disk or the availability of free space on the disk.

The Disks subpage of the File And Storage Services page can be used to manage both physical and virtual disks connected to the file server. For example, right-clicking on a virtual disk in the Disks tile, lets you take the disk offline, bring it back online, or reset the disk. The Disk tile also lets you view the status of your physical disks, as well as their capacity, partition format, and other information.

You can also use the Disk tile on the Volumes subpage to quickly determine how much capacity has been allocated on a physical or virtual disk.

Managing volumes

You can use the Volumes subpage of the File And Storage Services page in Server Manager to manage your volumes. For example, by right-clicking on a volume in the Volumes tile, you can perform tasks such as creating a new share on the volume, formatting the volume, extending the volume, or scanning the volume's file system for errors.

You can also perform the same tasks from the Volumes tile on the Disks subpage. In addition, you can use the Volume tile on the Shares subpage to quickly determine how much capacity has been used on a volume.

Managing shares

You can use the Shares subpage of the File And Storage Services page in Server Manager to manage your shares. For example, by right-clicking on a share in the Shares tile, you can perform tasks such as configuring a quota on the folder, stopping the sharing of the folder (this does not delete the underlying folder for the share), or opening the properties for the share. Opening the properties for the share lets you further configure the share by modifying its permissions, enabling access-based enumeration, configuring folder usage, and so on.