1. Chapter 7: Configuring Server Storage, Backup, and Performance Options

2. Learning Objectives Explain basic and dynamic disks
Partition, format, and manage basic disks and convert them to dynamic disks
Create and manage simple, spanned, striped, RAID-5, and mirrored dynamic disks
Mount a drive

3. Learning Objectives (continued)
Manage removable storage and set up media pools
Perform disk backups
Tune server performance
Configure Windows 2000 Server for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

4. Basic Disk Uses traditional disk management techniques
Is partitioned and formatted
Can be set up to employ disk sets
Offered for backward compatibility with earlier versions of Windows and MS-DOS

5. Disk Partitioning
Blocks a group of tracks and sectors in preparation for a file system
Places a master boot record and partition table in the beginning track and sectors on a disk

6. Partitioning Tip
When you partition a basic disk, leave 1 MB free for workspace which is necessary to later convert to a dynamic disk

7. Customizing the MMC for Disk Management
Figure 7-1
Disk Management and Disk Defragmenter snap-ins installed in the MMC

8. Primary and Extended Partitions
Primary partition: A partition or portion of a hard disk that is bootable
Extended Partition: A partition that is created from unpartitioned free disk space and is linked to a primary partition in order to increase the available disk space

9. Setting Up an Extended Partition
Figure 7-2 Creating an extended partition

10. Boot and System Partitions
Boot partition: A partition that holds the Windows 2000 Server \Winnt folder containing the system files
System partition: A partition that contains boot files, such as Boot.ini and Ntldr in Windows 2000 Server

11. Viewing the System and Boot Partitions
Figure 7-3 System and boot partitions

12. Formatting
Formatting creates a table containing file and folder information for a specific file system in a partition – it also creates a root folder and volume label
Use the Disk Management tool to format a partition

13. Formatting Using the Disk Management Tool
Figure 7-4 Formatting a partition

14. Formatting Tips
When you format a partition, avoid using the quick format option, because it does not check for bad sectors during the format
After you partition and format a disk, be sure to update the emergency repair disk to reflect your change

15. Volume and Stripe Sets
Volume set: Two or more formatted basic disk partitions (volumes) that are combined to look like one volume with a single drive letter
Stripe set: Two or more basic disks set up so that files are spread in blocks across the disks

16. Converting a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk
To convert a disk:
Right-click the basic disk to convert
Click Upgrade to Dynamic Disk

17. Converting a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk
To convert back to a basic disk:
Back up the dynamic disk
Delete the dynamic disk volume
Click the disk, click the Action menu, and click Restore Basic Disk
Partition and format the disk

18. Dynamic Disks
Dynamic disk: In Windows 2000 Server, a disk that does not use traditional partitioning, which means that there is no restriction to the number of volumes that can be set up on one disk or the ability to extend volumes onto additional physical disks. Dynamic disks are only compatible with Windows 2000.

19. Dynamic Disks (continued)
Dynamic disks support:
Spanned volumes and volume extensions
Up to 32 disks in one spanned volume
RAID levels 0, 1, and 5
FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS

20. Simple Volume
Simple volume: A portion of a disk or an entire disk that is set up as a dynamic disk
A simple volume is not set up for fault tolerance or RAID

21. Spanned Volume
Spanned volume: Two or more Windows 2000 dynamic disks that are combined to appear as one disk
A spanned volume can contain 2 to 32 disks

22. Spanned Volume (continued)
Figure 7-5 Spanned volume

23. Design Tip
In a spanned volume if one disk fails, the entire volume is inaccessible. If a portion of a volume is deleted, such as one disk, the entire disk set is deleted. For these reasons, avoid placing mission-critical data and applications on a spanned volume.

24. Striped Volume
Striped volume: Two or more dynamic disks that use striping so that files are spread in blocks across the disks (RAID level 0)
Striping requires 2 disks and can include as many as 32
Striping equalizes the disk load, extends the life of disks, and increases disk performance

25. Figure 7-6 Disks in a striped volume
Striped Volume Layout
Figure 7-6 Disks in a striped volume

26. Troubleshooting Tip
If one or more disks in a striped volume fail, the data will likely be inaccessible. Frequently back up a striped volume so you do not lose data if a disk failure occurs.

27. RAID-5 Volume
RAID-5 volume: Three or more dynamic disks that use RAID level 5 fault tolerance through disk striping and creating parity blocks for data recovery
A RAID-5 volume is not as fast at writing because it must calculate the parity block for each row

28. Figure 7-7 Disks in a RAID-5 volume
RAID-5 Layout
Figure 7-7 Disks in a RAID-5 volume

29. Disk Spaced Used for Parity
The amount of disk space used for parity is 1/n where n equals the number of physical disks
When you plan disk capacity, take into account the amount of space (for parity) that cannot be used for production data

30. Design Tip
If you create a RAID-5 volume, add at least 12 MB or more of RAM, because RAID-5 functions need more memory

31. Mirrored Volume
Mirrored volume: Two dynamic disks that are set up for RAID level 1 so that data on one disk is stored on a redundant disk
Disk read performance is the same as reading from a simple volume, but the disk write time is increased in order to write on both disks

32. Design Caution
The system and boot partitions can be on a simple, spanned, or mirrored volume, but not on a striped or RAID-5 volume (unless hardware RAID is used)

33. Disk Performance and Repair
Avoid allowing disks to get over 80 percent full
You can extend the life of disks by using striped or RAID-5 volumes
Regularly defragment disks to extend disk life and increase performance

34. Using the Disk Defragmenter
Figure 7-8 Analyzing a disk’s fragmentation

35. Troubleshooting Tip
Ensure disk integrity and repair disk problems by using the “checkdisk” utility, called chkdsk
Chkdsk can check FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS formatted volumes

36. Chkdsk In NTFS, chkdsk can check: Files Folders Indexes
Security descriptors
User files
Disk allocation units

37. Chkdsk Switch and Parameter Options

38. Chkdsk Switch and Parameter Options (continued)

39. Troubleshooting Tip
If there is physical damage on a disk, use chkdsk with the /r switch to identify bad sectors
Use Recover to recover files on a damaged disk:
Recover [driver and path] filename

40. Mounted Drive
Mounted drive: A physical disk, CD-ROM, or Zip drive that appears as a folder and that is accessed through a path like any other folder
Using mounted drives enables you to save on allocating drive letters

41. Removable Storage Examples of removable storage include: CD-ROMs
CD-RWs
Magnetic media such as tapes and Zip disks

42. Library Concepts
Library: Removable storage media and the drive (or drives) used by the media
Robotic library: A library of removable media and drives in which multiple media, such as tapes, can be mounted and dismounted automatically
Stand-alone drive library: A library consisting of media and a drive in which the media are mounted manually one at a time

43. Media Pool Concepts
Media pool: A set of removable media in which the media are used for the same purpose and that are managed in the same way, such as backup tapes for a Windows 2000 server
Media in each library are managed as part of a media pool

44. Media Classification
Physical media: Media you can touch, such as tapes and that are linked to a library (most common classification)
Logical media: Media that can hold information from two different media pools, such as a tape that has backup information from multiple media pools

45. Creating a Media Pool The steps for creating a media pool are:
Open the Removable Storage Management tool
Double-click Removable Storage, right-click Media Pools, click Create Media Pool
Access the General tab and enter a name for the media pool, enter a description, specify the type of media, and specify how the media are allocated
Use the Security tab to specify who can access and manage the media pool

46. Figure 7-9 Setting up a new media pool
Media Pool Setup
Figure 7-9 Setting up a new media pool

47. Backing Up a Server Develop a backup strategy as soon as possible
Consider your backup activities as mission-critical

48. Windows 2000 Backup Options
The backup options in Windows 2000 Server include:
Normal – a full backup
Incremental – a partial backup (removes the archive attribute)
Differential – a partial backup (does not remove the archive attribute
Copy – backs up specifically selected files
Daily – backs up files that have changed on the day of the backup

49. Figure 7-10 Manually starting a backup

50. Scheduling Backups
For regularly performed backups, use the scheduling capability in the Backup tool – which actually employs the Scheduled Tasks tool

51. Configuring a Scheduled Backup
Figure Scheduling a backup job

52. Performing a Restore
Perform a restore by using the Backup tool and clicking the Restore tab
You can restore all files and folders on a medium or only those you select specifically

53. Configuring Application Performance
Tune the server performance by configuring application performance
Application performance is tuned by opening the Control Panel System icon, accessing the Advanced tab, and clicking the Performance Options button

54. Configuring Virtual Memory
Tune a server by configuring the page file, which is used to expand the capacity of RAM
The general formula for configuring a page file is to size it to match the amount of RAM times 1.5

55. Page File Configuration Tips
Avoid placing the page file on the boot partition or volume
Place a page file in each volume in a multiple volume system
Place a page file on the main volume in a mirrored set
Do not place a page file on a stripe set, striped volume, strip set with parity, or RAID-5 volume

56. Page File Configuration
Figure Configuring virtual memory

57. Configuring Memory to Match the User Load
Tune a server so the memory is allocated to match the number of users and the main functions of the server (access by users, access to run processes, access to obtain files)

58. Configuring Server RAM

59. Configuring Server RAM (continued)

60. Configuring RAM Allocation
Figure Adjusting memory allocation

61. UPS Fault Tolerance
Uninterruptible power supply (UPS): A device built into electrical equipment or a separate device that provides immediate battery power to equipment during a power failure or brownout
The dollars you spend on a UPS are quickly returned in terms of the data that is saved, grateful users, and reducing hardware and software damage

62. Troubleshooting Tip
Avoid plugging laser printers into a UPS, because their excessive power consumption when turned on can damage a UPS (also there is usually no reason to protect a printer from a power outage)
Always purchase an online UPS for a server – and one that has ample line filtering and surge protection

63. Chapter Summary
Windows 2000 Server supports two kinds of disks, basic and dynamic
Basic disks are for backward compatibility and dynamic disks offer comprehensive disk management
Windows 2000 Server supports many kinds of removable storage such as tapes, CD-ROMs, CD-RWs, Zip, and Jaz drives

64. Chapter Summary
Removable storage is managed through libraries and media pools
Server backups are handled through the Backup tool which offers several backup alternatives
Tune your server right away for running applications, virtual memory, and memory used for network connectivity