Scale Out File Server for Applications using Shared VHDX

Just trying to get a definitive answer to the question of can we use a Shared VHDX in a SOFS Cluster which will be used to store VHDX files?
We have a 2012 R2 RDS Solution and store the User Profile Disks (UPD) on a SOFS Cluster that uses "traditional" storage from a SAN. We are planning on creating a new SOFS Cluster and wondered if we can use a shared VHDX instead of CSV as the storage
that will then be used to store the UPDs (one VHDX file per user).
Cheers for now
Russell

Just trying to get a definitive answer to the question of can we use a Shared VHDX in a SOFS Cluster which will be used to store VHDX files?
We have a 2012 R2 RDS Solution and store the User Profile Disks (UPD) on a SOFS Cluster that uses "traditional" storage from a SAN. We are planning on creating a new SOFS Cluster and wondered if we can use a shared VHDX instead of CSV as the storage that
will then be used to store the UPDs (one VHDX file per user).
Cheers for now
Russell
Sure you can do it. See:
Deploy a Guest Cluster Using a Shared Virtual Hard Disk
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn265980.aspx
Scenario 2: Hyper-V failover cluster using file-based storage in a separate Scale-Out File Server
This scenario uses Server Message Block (SMB) file-based storage as the location of the shared .vhdx files. You must deploy a Scale-Out File Server and create an SMB file share as the storage location. You also need a separate Hyper-V failover cluster.
The following table describes the physical host prerequisites.
Cluster Type
Requirements
Scale-Out File Server
At least two servers that are running Windows Server 2012 R2.
The servers must be members of the same Active Directory domain.
The servers must meet the requirements for failover clustering.
For more information, see Failover Clustering Hardware Requirements and Storage Options and Validate
Hardware for a Failover Cluster.
The servers must have access to block-level storage, which you can add as shared storage to the physical cluster. This storage can be iSCSI, Fibre Channel, SAS, or clustered storage spaces that use a set of shared SAS JBOD enclosures.
StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

Similar Messages

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Scale out file server cluster using server disks as CSV

    Hi,
    My question is if I can create a Scale Out File Server Cluster with CSV using the disks that comes with the servers, we have 2 servers with 2 arrays each one, 1 array for the OS files and 1 array that we could use for the CSV.
    Regards.

    Hi,
    a SoFS needs some kind of shared Storage, this could be in the old days ISCSI or FC SAN and now also a Shared SAS JBOD with Clustered Storage Spaces.
    If you have 2  Servers with "local" Disks you need some sort of Software to create a Shared Disk Layer out of that local Disks, like Starwind or DataCore.
    Scale-Out File Server for Application Data Overview
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831349.aspx
    check out Step 1: Plan for Storage in Scale-Out File Server
    oh i forgot the normal 4th Option, some Kind of Clustered Raid Controller like HP or Dell offer in some Solutions.
    Udo
    Udo, clustered RAID controllers still require SAS disks mounted into external enclosure *OR* everything mounted into single chassis for Cluster-In-A-Box scenario (but that's for OEMs). The only two benefits somebody would have with them are a) ability to
    privide RAID LUs to Clustered Storage Spaces (non-clustered RAID controllers would be used as a SAS controllers only in pass-thru mode) and b) abillity to have caches synchronized so VM moved from one physical host to another would not start from the "cold"
    state. Please see LSI Syncro reference manual for details:
    Syncro 8i
    http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/Syncro%20Shared%20Storage/docs/LSI_PB_SyncroCS_9271-8i.pdf
    "LSI Syncro CS solutions are designed to provide continuous application uptime at a fraction 
    of the cost and complexity of traditional high availability solutions. Built on LSI MegaRAID 
    technology, the Syncro CS 9271-8i enables OEMs and system builders to use Syncro CS 
    controllers to build cost-effective two-node Cluster-in-a-Box (CiB) systems and deliver high 
    availability in a single self-contained unit.
    Syncro 8e
    http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/Syncro%20Shared%20Storage/docs/LSI_PB_SyncroCS_9286-8e.pdf
    LSI Syncro CS solutions are designed to provide continuous application uptime at a fraction
    of the cost and complexity of traditional high availability solutions. Built on LSI MegaRAID
    technology, the Syncro CS 9286-8e solution allows a system administrator to build a costeffective,
    easy to deploy and manage server failover cluster using volume servers and an offthe-
    shelf JBOD. Syncro CS solutions bring shared storage and storage controller failover into
    DAS environments, leveraging the low cost DAS infrastructure, simplicity, and performance
    benefits. Controller to controller connectivity is provided through the high performance SAS
    interface, providing the ability for resource load balancing, helping to ensure that applications
    are using the most responsive server to boost performance and help prevent any one server
    from being overburdened.
    So... Making long story short: 8i is for OEMs and 8e is for end-users but require a JBOD.
    Hope this helped :)
    StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

  • IIS Web Farm - File Server for Content and Shared Configuration - SOFS?

    We currently have a number of web farms with their content and shared configuration files located on a standalone file server.
    I am looking to utilise the clustered file server role in Windows 2012 to provide improved uptime and load balancing for the configuration and content shares.
    Please could someone provide clarification as to whether SOFS is supported for this scenario?
    There appears to be some conflicting advice in the documentation and across the internet.

    We currently have a number of web farms with their content and shared configuration files located on a standalone file server.
    I am looking to utilise the clustered file server role in Windows 2012 to provide improved uptime and load balancing for the configuration and content shares.
    Please could someone provide clarification as to whether SOFS is supported for this scenario?
    There appears to be some conflicting advice in the documentation and across the internet.
    SoFS is a good choice for a) Hyper-V and b) SQL Server (anything working with a big files like VHDX and MDF). For a bunch of a small files IIS has in a shared directories SoFS is not going to work and it's cleary said in the documentation. See:
    Scale-Out File Server for Application Data Overview
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831349.aspx
    Workload: Information worker
    Yes
    Not recommended
    Workload: Hyper-V
    Yes
    Yes
    Workload: Microsoft SQL Server
    Yes
    Yes
    So in your case just an ordinary clustered file servers should be enough. See:
    Create a Clustered File Server
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753969.aspx
    Hope this helped :)
    StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

  • Scale out file server client access point using public nic

    Thoughts on this one.
    I have a Scale Out File Server cluster with a Client Access Point. Whenever i talk to the Client Access Point it uses the public nics.
    If i talk to the Scale Out File Server directly it uses the private like i want it to. How can i get the Client Access Point using the private nics?

    Hi JustusIV,
    Could you tell us why you want to modify the CAP use the “private” network, the CAP is used for client access, your clients may can’t access your cluster if modify your CAP
    use private network, if you want know how to modify the CAP of a cluster you can refer the following KB:
    Modify Network Settings for a Failover Cluster
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725775.aspx
    More information:
    Understanding Access Points (Names and IP Addresses) in a Failover Cluster
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732536.aspx
    Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters: Networking (Part 4)
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2010/04/15/windows-server-2008-failover-clusters-networking-part-4.aspx
    Hope this helps.
    We
    are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this
    interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time.
    Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.

  • Scale out SSAS server for better performance

    HI
    i have a sharepoint farm
    running performance point service in a server where ANaylysis srver,reporting server installed
    and we have anyalysis server dbs and cubes
    and a wfe server where secure store service running
    we have
    1) application server + domain controller
    2) two wfes
    1) sql server sharepoint
    1) SSAS server ( analysis server dbs+ reporting server)
    here how i scaled out my SSAS server for better performance 
    adil

    Just trying to get a definitive answer to the question of can we use a Shared VHDX in a SOFS Cluster which will be used to store VHDX files?
    We have a 2012 R2 RDS Solution and store the User Profile Disks (UPD) on a SOFS Cluster that uses "traditional" storage from a SAN. We are planning on creating a new SOFS Cluster and wondered if we can use a shared VHDX instead of CSV as the storage that
    will then be used to store the UPDs (one VHDX file per user).
    Cheers for now
    Russell
    Sure you can do it. See:
    Deploy a Guest Cluster Using a Shared Virtual Hard Disk
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn265980.aspx
    Scenario 2: Hyper-V failover cluster using file-based storage in a separate Scale-Out File Server
    This scenario uses Server Message Block (SMB) file-based storage as the location of the shared .vhdx files. You must deploy a Scale-Out File Server and create an SMB file share as the storage location. You also need a separate Hyper-V failover cluster.
    The following table describes the physical host prerequisites.
    Cluster Type
    Requirements
    Scale-Out File Server
    At least two servers that are running Windows Server 2012 R2.
    The servers must be members of the same Active Directory domain.
    The servers must meet the requirements for failover clustering.
    For more information, see Failover Clustering Hardware Requirements and Storage Options and Validate
    Hardware for a Failover Cluster.
    The servers must have access to block-level storage, which you can add as shared storage to the physical cluster. This storage can be iSCSI, Fibre Channel, SAS, or clustered storage spaces that use a set of shared SAS JBOD enclosures.
    StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

  • How to backup a Scale Out File Server

    Can anyone explain to me how i am supposed to backup my Scale Out File Server? It is used to host our VDI environment but we have thrown a few other minimal shares on there for stuff relevant to the VDI setup. Profile Disk/Scripts etc
    Per this topic http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/15561919-963b-4164-a307-e3696f5d21e1/adding-scaleout-file-servers-to-dpm2012-sp1?forum=dpmfilebackup
    "DPM does not support protecting scale-out file servers (SOFS) for file shares.
    I do not really know how to proceed. To make sure everything is backed up.

    Hi,
    Scale out file server support in DPM is for VM's (and SQL DB's I think), only and to be honest because of the metadata overhead using scale out file server and CSV as a general file server is not a good choice.  To protect VM's running on a scale out
    file server the VM's are backed up from the Hyper-V hosts but the Scale Out file servers do require a DPM agent on them.  SMB 3.0 has a new feature which enables Remote VSS therefore the volumes (shares) are snapped from the Hyper-V hosts.
    This document will give you the basic steps (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh757866.aspx)
    hope this helps,
    Regards,
    Paul

  • How to size a Scale-out File Server

    Hi,
    We are looking to implement a 2-node 2012 R2 Scale-out File Server cluster (using SAS JBOD enclosure) for the primary purpose of storing the VHD files that will be accessed by a 4-node 2012 R2 Hyper-V cluster using 10 gigabit Ethernet (no RDMA).  Our
    environment can be characterised as having a large number of mostly idle VMs that experience sporadic, low intensity use (this is *not* a VDI environment).  We have 2 questions.
    1) To what extent is RAM a consideration for the SoFS servers?  We can't find any documentation to suggest that there are benefits to be gained by having more RAM in the SoFS servers but we don't know if we should go with 8/16/32/64+ GB RAM in each
    of the nodes.
    2) With the need to keep costs down, we don't think RDMA / SMB-Direct NICs are going to be within our reach.  Should we however look to have 2 * dual-port 10 Gbps NICs in both the SoFS & Hyper-V boxes?

    Unless your VMs are read-intensive and you're going to deploy a CSV cache memory requirement for serving mostly idle VMs can be pretty low. However RAM is cheap these days so going for less then 16GB per node does not sound reasonable. Good sample, see:
    Windows Server 2012 File Server Tip: Enable CSV Caching on Scale-Out File Server Clusters
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2012/11/14/windows-server-2012-file-server-tip-enable-csv-caching-on-scale-out-file-server-clusters.aspx
    How to Enable
    CSV Cache
    http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2013/07/19/10286676.aspx
    HYPER-V OVER SMB: SCALE-OUT FILE SERVER AND STORAGE SPACES
    http://www.thomasmaurer.ch/2013/08/hyper-v-over-smb-scale-out-file-server-and-storage-spaces/
    Hope this helped :)
    StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

  • Access Point  not visible in UMS server for Application using UMS adapter

    Email Driver Properties for email is configured in UMS and works fine which means its able to poll for any incoming Email from the Configured Account.
    Now i am builiding a soa Composite application and and using UMS adapter to receive that incoming mail and process it further.
    I have succesfully deployed that application in my soa server but it doesn't show any access point for that application.
    I have followed oracle Documentation (section 11.2.3.3)
    http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E28280_01/integration.1111/e10231/ums_adapter.htm
    how to get that Access point configured for application ?
    Please Help.
    Thanks in Advance
    Divyanshu

    Thanks for the reply.
    I had readded the access points after phone reset, so they are available under internet destination but none of the apps are able to see them.
    I also saw 3-4 processes listed under panic tab in KillMe application, not sure if being inside panic tab means that the processes crashed, i hope it's not a hardware related problem.

  • File Server Failover Cluster without shared disks

    i have two servers that i wish to cluster as my Hyper V hosts and also two file servers each with 10 4TB SATA disks, all i have read about implementing high availability at the storage level involves clustering the file servers (e.g SOFS) which require external
    shared storage that the servers in the cluster can access directly. i do not have external storage and do not have budget for it.
    Is it possible to implement some for of HA with windows server 2012 R2 file servers without shared storage? for example is it possible to cluster the servers and have data on one server mirrored real-time to the other server such that if one server goes
    down, the other server will take over processing storage request using the mirrored data?
    i intend to use the storage to host VMs for Hyper V fail-over cluster and an SQL server cluster. they will access the shared on the file server through SMB
    each file server also has 144GB SSD, how can i use it to improve performance?

    i have two servers that i wish to cluster as my Hyper V hosts and also two file servers each with 10 4TB SATA disks, all i have read about implementing high availability at the storage level involves clustering the file servers (e.g SOFS) which require external
    shared storage that the servers in the cluster can access directly. i do not have external storage and do not have budget for it.
    Is it possible to implement some for of HA with windows server 2012 R2 file servers without shared storage? for example is it possible to cluster the servers and have data on one server mirrored real-time to the other server such that if one server goes
    down, the other server will take over processing storage request using the mirrored data?
    i intend to use the storage to host VMs for Hyper V fail-over cluster and an SQL server cluster. they will access the shared on the file server through SMB
    each file server also has 144GB SSD, how can i use it to improve performance?
    There are two ways for you to go:
    1) Build a cluster w/o shared storage using MSFT upcoming version of Windows (yes, finally they have that feature and tons of other cool stuff). We've recently build both Scale-Out File Server serving Hyper-V cluster and standard general-purpose File Server
    cluster with this version. I'll blog next week edited content (you can drop me a message to get drafts right now) or you can use Dave's blog who was the first one I know who build it and posted, see :
    Windows Server Technical Preview (Storage Replica)
    http://clusteringformeremortals.com
    Feature you should be interested in it Storage Replica. Official guide is here:
    Storage Replica Guide
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2014/10/07/storage-replica-guide-released-for-windows-server-technical-preview.aspx
    Will do things like on the picture below:
    Just be aware: feature is new, build is preview (not even beta) so failover does not happen transparently (even with CA feature of SMB 3.0 enabled). However I think tuning timeout and improving I/O performance will fix that. SoFS failover is transparent
    even right away.
    2) If you cannot wait 9-12 months from now (hope MSFT is not going to delay their release) and you're not happy with a very basic functionality MSFT had put there (active-passive design, no RAM cache, requirement for separated storage, system/boot and dedicated
    log disks where SSD is assumed) you can get advanced stuff with a third-party software doing things similar to the picture below:
    So it will basically "mirror" some part of your storage (can be even directly-accessed file on your only system/boot disk) between hypervisor or just Windows hosts creating fault-tolerant and distributed SAN volume with optimal SMB3/NFS shares.
    For more details see:
    StarWind Virtual SAN
    http://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-virtual-san/
    There are other guys who do similar things but as you want file server (no virtualization?) most of them who are Linux/FreeBSD/Solaris-based and VM-running are out and you need to check for native Windows implementations. Guess SteelEye DataKeeper (that's
    Dave who blogged about Storage Replica File Server) and DataCore.
    Good luck :) 
    StarWind VSAN [Virtual SAN] clusters Hyper-V without SAS, Fibre Channel, SMB 3.0 or iSCSI, uses Ethernet to mirror internally mounted SATA disks between hosts.

  • Adequate File Server for Design Studio

    I am looking for feedback on the new mac mini. Hopefully, there are a number of you who have experience in the matter.
    My company will soon have several designers on staff. Currently, my Mac Pro is serving as the file server for the company. This is not ideal, as I would like to use my Mac Pro as a work station. We have a ReadyNAS in the office, but it's sluggish performance would never hold up with our work flow. I need a file server that can handle less than 10 designers working on large files. Ideally, I would also like to find something that acts as an in-house web server.
    The new Mac Mini with Thunderbold looks like it could fit the bill, but I would love to hear from people who are using the machine in a similar setup. Could the mini provide adequate performance as a file server? If so, what upgrades should I consider?
    I am also looking at attaching the LaCe Little Big DIsk for the files. If I understand correctly, this should run as quickly as an internal drive, correct?
    I would love to hear your feedback and any alternative suggestions.

    I recently purchased a Mac Mini i& 2.0 with 7200RPM Drives and a Promise Pegasus R6 12TB File Server.
    Everything worked great for 48 hours, but then my Pegasus Server droped a drive... Promise is RMAing me a replcement drive, but that takes about a week to get...  I have heard issues with Promise RAIDs coming with 1 Bad drive, but I thought I was safe since I didn't have one after the 6 hour initialization process.  The new drive wil be here by Friday, and hopefully I can do some tests on this thing to see if anything else goes wrong before the "Return/Refund" date is up.  I really can't afford to have a $2,000 RAID PaperWeight.
    I also asked Promise if I could simply go to "Best Buy" and get a replacement drive to get me back up and going (even though the server is still running I am apprehensive about using it without a "Redundant drive"), Promise said that the server will only work with "Apple Approved" drives, and only Promise can ship though drives, so I could not just go get a 2TB 7,200 RPM drive and replace the defective one myself.
    Not sure there is any truth to this, but since the parts are under warranty for 2 years, I guess it doesn't matter as its not costing me anything but time and from using the new $2K server.
    I thought about Drobo Pro servers too, but the reviews of them seemed 10 times worse that what I read about the Promise Servers. 
    Anyone out there has these R6 Pegasus Servers, care to comment?  Should I cut my loses and return this thing or should I stick it out?

  • Mac as a file server for windows -- mounting a mac disk at windows startup

    Is there any way to use the Mac as a file server for a windows XP home service pack 1 system?
    The best I can do is "mount disk at login". However, this fails to use the right username/password, and even then it fails to deal with programs that run outside of a user context, or with fast user switching (it seems every program gets a different set of drive letters to remote volume mappings).
    Mac Mini 1.42 1G   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

    And this is my problem.
    In windows terms:
    I want to assign a drive letter to a network drive, and have that be a machine-wide assignment, that is activated during bootup, and is visible to all users and services.
    I can do that for an arbitrary partition that is physically attached to the machine.
    I cannot seem to do that for any partition that is mounted over the network.
    The problems are:
    1. It doesn't map for every user,
    2. It doesn't map for services that run when a user isn't logged in
    3. It generates annoying inconsistencies in what programs see what.
    Is there really no way for an XP box to use a file server? Even a microsoft file server? (if there is, how do I make my mac os with samba look like a real microsoft file server).
    Annoying tidbit: The "conncet at login" information is stored in the user profile; if you rely on that, then the user profile cannot be stored with the rest of the user's personal files. If it weren't for that, I could probably live with a work around.
    (2 to 1 someone will say "Xp Professional can do that trivially" and tell me to upgrade. I thought XP home was supposed to support home and small office networking, and I thought that included a single shared file server.)
    Mac Mini 1.42 1G   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

  • How to append paragraph in text file of TextEdit application using applescript

    how to append paragraph in text file of TextEdit application using applescript and how do i save as different location.

    christian erlinger wrote:
    When you want to print out an escape character in java (java is doing the work in client_text_io ), you'd need to escape it.
    client_text_io.put_line(out_file, replace('your_path', '\','\\'));cheersI tried replacing \ with double slash but it just printed double slash in the bat file. again the path was broken into two lines.
    file output
    chdir C:\\DOCUME~1\
    195969\\LOCALS~1\\Temp\
    Edited by: rivas on Mar 21, 2011 6:03 AM

  • Developing server-side applications using dreamweaver

    We are having issues developing server-side applications using dreamweaver for our client's website www.uuee.org.. They are building oracle database driven worldwide directory for Egyptian expatriates. Any help is highly appreciated.

    You made 3 statements. What is the question?  What do you need help with?

  • Urgent: integrating windows file server into ep using KM.

    hi..
    can somebody give me detail steps of integrating windows file server into ep using KM.
    when i give password in the network path it is not accepting the password of the windows....
      Good answers will be rewarded points...
    bye....

    Hi,
       You can check:
    System Administration-System Configuration-KM-CM-Repository Managers-File System Repository-create a new item
    Root Directory can be:
    machine\sharedirectory
    and in CM-Global Services-Network Paths->create a new item
    in Network Path field:
    machine\sharedirectory
    enter your password
    user: domain\user
    Integrating Documents from a Windows System into KM
    http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw2004s/helpdata/en/ed/b334ea02a2704388d1d2fc3e4298ad/frameset.htm
    Patricio.

  • How to find if a SAP Application uses Shared server process ??

    Hi,
    Please find the details below wrt to SAP application:
    SAP Release : SAP ECC 6.0
    Oracle database Version : 10.2.0.4.0
    Can you please tell me how to find if my SAP application  with oracle  uses Shared server mode or Dedicated server mode for oracle database access??
    regards,
    Arul S

    Hi Nick,
    Thanks for your reply.
    I am also pasting the output of "lsnrctl services"
    LSNRCTL for HPUX: Version 10.2.0.4.0 - Production
    Copyright (c) 1991, 2007, Oracle.  All rights reserved.
    Connecting to (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=IPC)(KEY=R1Q.WORLD))
    Services Summary...
    Service "R1Q" has 1 instance(s).
      Instance "R1Q", status UNKNOWN, has 2 handler(s) for this service...
        Handler(s):
          "DEDICATED" established:0 refused:0
             LOCAL SERVER
          "DEDICATED" established:269921 refused:0
             LOCAL SERVER
    The command completed successfully
    This looks like dedicated connection with the Oracle database..
    Can you please comment on this?
    Regards,
    Arul S

Maybe you are looking for