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

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Chapter 7Configuring Server Storage, Backup,
and Performance Options
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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

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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)

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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

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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

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Partitioning Tip

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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Converting a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk

• To convert a disk
• Right-click the basic disk to convert
• Click Upgrade to Dynamic Disk

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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Using the Disk Defragmenter
Figure 7-8 Analyzing a disks fragmentation
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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

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Chkdsk

• In NTFS, chkdsk can check
• Files
• Folders
• Indexes
• Security descriptors
• User files
• Disk allocation units

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Chkdsk Switch and Parameter Options
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Chkdsk Switch and Parameter Options (continued)
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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

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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

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Removable Storage

• Examples of removable storage include
• CD-ROMs
• CD-RWs
• Magnetic media such as tapes and Zip disks

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Media Pool Setup
Figure 7-9 Setting up a new media pool
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Backing Up a Server

• Develop a backup strategy as soon as possible
• Consider your backup activities as
  mission-critical

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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

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Starting a Backup
Figure 7-10 Manually starting a backup
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Scheduling Backups

• For regularly performed backups, use the
  scheduling capability in the Backup tool which
  actually employs the Scheduled Tasks tool

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Configuring a Scheduled Backup
Figure 7-11 Scheduling a backup job
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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

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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

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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

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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

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Page File Configuration
Figure 7-12 Configuring virtual memory
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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)

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Configuring Server RAM
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Configuring Server RAM (continued)
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Configuring RAM Allocation
Figure 7-13 Adjusting memory allocation
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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

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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

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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

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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