Lesson 3

Lesson 3
Managing Storage
Learning Objectives
Students will learn about:
Storage Technologies
Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks
Disk Structure

ODN Skills

Identify storage technologies

Understand RAID
Understand disk types

4.1
4.2
4.3

Lesson Summary Lecture Notes

This lesson focuses on disk storage accessed by the server. Therefore, to start the
discussion, you should discuss IDE and SCSI drives and the current versions that you
will find them in today.
Of course, important servers need to have some redundancy. Therefore, this gives you a
transition into RAID and the different forms of RAID. Focus on the common types found
on Windows and the two common hybrid modes. You should also mention the use of hot
spares and how they can enhance RAID just a little bit more.
To enhance servers one step further, servers can also use NAS devices and SANs as
storage devices. Therefore, you need to explain the advantages and disadvantages of
using NAS devices and SANs. This discussion should also cover Fibre Channel and
iSCSI.
After understanding the disks, the next part of the lesson discusses the disk structure
found on these disks. It includes discussing partition styles, partitions, basic versus
dynamic disks, and file systems (FAT, FAT32 and NTFS). When discussing file systems,
emphasize that NTFS is the preferred file system because it is a journaling file system
and because of its security enhancements.

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Key Terms
FAT32 A file system released with the second major release of Windows 95
and that was designed to support volumes only up to 32 GB. FAT32 also
supports long file names.
Fibre Channel A logical reference that can comprise a disk, a section of a disk,
a whole disk array, or a section of a disk array.
File Allocation Table (FAT) A simple file system that uses minimum memory
and was even used with DOS.
host bus adapter (HBA) A device that connects a host system such as a
computer to a network or storage device.
hot spare A designated spare drive that is automatically used to replace the
failed drive and rebuild or restore the missing data.
integrated drive electronics (IDE) Drives which are designed as fast and lowcost.
internet small computing system interface (iSCSI) An Internet Protocol (IP)based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. iSCSI
allows clients to send SCSI commands over a TCP/IP network using TCP port
3260. Similar to Fibre Channel, iSCSI can communicate using Gigabit Ethernet
or Fibre and it can connect a SAN to multiple servers over a distance.
logical unit number (LUN) A logical reference that can comprise a disk, a
section of a disk, a whole disk array, or a section of a disk array.
network attached storage (NAS) A file-level data storage device that is
connected to a computer network to provide shared drives or folders, usually
using SMB/CIFS.
New Technology File System (NTFS) The preferred file system, largely
because it supports a much larger hard disk (up to 16 exabytes), long file names,
and enhanced security.
Partition A defining of a physical or virtual disk into logical volumes.
partitioning style The method that Windows uses to organize partitions on a
disk.
redundant array of independent disks (RAID) Technology that uses two or
more drives in combination to create a fault-tolerant system that protects against
physical hard-drive failure and increases hard-drive performance
serial ATA standard (SATA) IDE drives that use a connector that is attached
with only four wires and a smaller power connector. Although the serial ATA uses
fewer wires and connectors, it provides faster throughput than parallel ATA IDE
drives.

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small computer system interface (SCSI) Drives typically offer faster
performance and throughput than IDE drives, and SCSI drives can support a
larger number of drives that can be attached using the same interface.
storage area network (SAN) An architecture used for disk arrays, tape
libraries, and optical jukeboxes to appear as locally attached drives on a server.
volume cloning Technology that allows you to copy a storage area to another
storage area within a SAN or to another SAN.

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Lesson 3
Managing Storage
Knowledge Assessment
Fill in the Blank
Complete the following sentences by writing the correct word or words in
the blanks provided.
1.

RAID uses two or more drives used in combination to create a faulttolerant system.

2.

RAID 0 is a commonly used RAID technology that does not provide fault
tolerance.

3.

A(n) hot spare is an extra drive that can be automatically swapped when a
drive fails.

4.

A(n) storage area network is an architecture used for disk arrays, tape
libraries, and optical jukeboxes based on networking technology.

5.

The iSCSI sends SCSI commands to a SAN over a TCP/IP network.

6.

The Storage Manager for SANs is a Windows Server 2008 feature that
allows you to create and manage logical unit numbers (LUNs) on both
Fibre Channel and iSCSI disk storage subsystems that support VDS.

7.

A(n) file system is a method of storing and organizing computer files so

that you can easily find them and access them.

8.

NTFS can support up to 16 exabytes of storage space for each volume.

9.

The diskpart.exe program is the command interface to partition drives.

10.

A(n) mirrored volume uses volumes stored on two separate physical disks
to write data onto both disks simultaneously and redundantly.

Multiple Choice
Circle the letter that corresponds to the best answer.
1.

Which type of drives offer faster performance and are usually found on
servers?
a.

SCSI

b.

IDE

c.

RLL

d.

MFM

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2.

Which common form of RAID uses three or more disks to provide fault
tolerance?
a.

RAID 0

b.

RAID 1

c.

RAID 3

d. RAID 5
3.

4.

How much disk space would you have if you use four 2TB drives in a
RAID 5 configuration?
a.

2 TB

b.

4 TB

c.

6 TB

d.

8 TB

Which type of RAID uses a striped dataset that is mirrored with RAID 1?
a.

RAID 4

b.

RAID 5

c.

RAID 1+0

d. RAID 0+1
5.

Which device is a file-level data storage drive that provides access to shared
files and folders?
a.

SAN

b. NAS

6.

7.

c.

RAID

d.

Hot spare

What is the default port used by iSCSI?

a.

3000

b.

8080

c.

3260

d.

443

Windows Server 2008 uses an __________ to communicate to a SAN based

on iSCSI.
a.

iSCSI connector

b. iSCSI initiator

8.

9.

c.

iSCSI plug-in

d.

iSCSI snap-in

Which Fibre Channel topology provides optimized connection when

isolating failed ports?
a.

FC-P2P

b.

FC-AL

c.

FC-SW

d.

FC-SNP

What units used in a SAN can be assigned to a server?

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a.

HBAs

b.

snapshots

c.

LUNs

d.

ANSIs

10. Which type of volume do dynamic disks not support?

a.

Simple volume

b.

Striped volume

c.

Stripped mirror volume

d. RAID-5 volume

True / False
Circle T if the statement is true or F if the statement is false.
T

1.

When configuring IDE drives, you must configure a SCSI ID and

terminate both ends of the chain.

2.

Two volume types used by Windows Server 2008 are MBR and
GPT.

3.

NTFS is the preferred file system used by Windows Server 2008.

4.

Basic disks can be resized without rebooting.

5.

GUID partition types can support up to 18 EB drives.

Competency Assessment
Scenario 3-1: Planning Your Disks
You are configuring a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 and will run
Microsoft Exchange 2010. So far, you have a single 80 GB drive with Windows running
on it. What drives and drive configuration should you add to the server to support
Microsoft Exchange if it requires 100 GB of mailboxes?
You need to add a second 80 GB hard drive to mirror the C drive. You should then add three more
drives with a minimum of 80 GB each configured in RAID-5 to hold the mailboxes or connect to a
SAN for the drive space. The SAN will use RAID 5 or a higher derivative. Of course, you will need
additional network cards and cables to support a connection to a SAN. Since the 80 GB drives
arranged in RAID-5 configuration will give 160 GB of usable disk space, you have plenty of space for
growth.

Scenario 3-2: Researching Disks

Every day, disks become faster and gain more capacity. In addition, disks are starting to
transition from mechanical magnetic disks to solid-state disks. Do a search on the
Internet, find the fastest disk currently available, and research its features. List the drive,
its highlights, and where you found the information.
Answers will vary. Students can learn a lot about what is out there as well as how to
to find information. Students may find information about both mechanical drives
and solid-state drives. They should also compare costs since that is always a

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consideration when purchasing. Typically, faster performance costs more. Solid

State drives also have an additional advantage in that they will consume less power.

Proficiency Assessment
Scenario 3-3: Connecting a Second Hard Drive
Connect a second hard drive to your system. Next, create a volume on the second drive
that takes up half the available space. Format the disk as an NTFS file system. Then
expand the drive to take up the rest of the available space. When you can access the
volume successfully, delete the volumes on the second hard drive.
No Answer is needed. Any time students have to open up a system, you should
review Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and how to avoid it. Also emphasize that
unless a system is a server-based system that supports hot-swappable drives
(typically will have a tray where the drive slides in), you must make sure the system
is turned off and unplugged before opening the system.
Scenario 3-4: Create a Striped Volume
Using the free disk space on the first drive and the space on the second disk, create a
striped volume.
No Answer is needed. Assuming that they installed the second hard drive in Scenario
3-3, they can perform this exercise. After it is installed, you can suggest that the
students get a large file (such as a video file). Place the video file on their Desktop.
Then copy the file to a folder on the C drive and copy the file to a folder on the
striped volume. They should record how long it takes to copy the file.

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