Step-by-step for Storage Spaces Tiering in Windows Server 2012 R2

1. Overview

In this document, I am sharing all the steps I used to create a demo or test environment of a storage space with storage tiers on Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview so that you can experiment with some of the new technologies yourself. You need only a single computer with one SSD and one HDD for this demo (the specs are provided below).

If you’re not familiar with Storage Spaces or storage tiers (also known as Storage Spaces Tiering), I would strong encourage you to review the Storage Spaces Overview and TechEd 2013 talks on “Storage Spaces”, which you can find below:

• TechNet Article – Storage Spaces Overview
• TechEd 2013 – Storage Spaces: What’s New in Windows Server 2012 R2
• TechEd 2013 – Deploying Windows Server 2012 R2 File Services for Exceptional $/IOPS
• Technet Wiki – Storage Spaces – Designing for Performance

 

2. Simulated environment with limited hardware

In a typical storage tier configuration (non-clustered), you have a JBOD with a few hard disks, some being SSDs and some being HDD. For instance, you could have 4 SSDs and 8 HDDs. You would then combine all 12 disks into a pool, create the two tiers (SSD and HDD) and then create spaces (virtual disks) on top of those. Here’s what it looks like:

However, if you’re just experimenting with this feature or trying to learn how to configure it, the investment in the hardware (1 JBOD, 4 SSDs, 8 HDDs, SAS HBA, cables) might be holding you back. So, in this blog post, we’ll show how to configure storage tiers using just one SSD and one HDD, with the help of Hyper-V. Here’s what the simulated environment looks like:

As you can see in the diagram, the basic goal here is to simulate a tiered storage space using 4 (simulated) SSDs and 8 (simulated) HDDs. We’ll show the Windows PowerShell cmdlets to create the VHDs and the VM required to simulate the environment. Then, inside the guest, we’ll create the pool, storage tiers and storage spaces (both simple and mirrored). To verify it’s all working, we’ll create some test files and run a simulated SQL workload. We’ll also look into the storage tier maintenance tasks and extending an existing storage space.

3. Required Hardware and Software, plus Disclaimers

You will need the following hardware to perform the steps described here:

• One computer capable of running the Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview and Hyper-V.
• On that computer, one SSD with at least 50GB of free space available.
• On that computer, one HDD with at least 250GB of free space available.
• As required by Hyper-V, enable the virtualization settings in the BIOS. For details, check this blog post: http://blogs.technet.com/b/iftekhar/archive/2010/08/09/enable-hardware-settings-in-bios-to-run-hyper-v.aspx and http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731898.aspx
• For this setup, the computer should have at least 4GB of RAM.
• An 8GB USB stick, if you’re installing Windows Server from USB and copying the downloaded software around

You will need the following software to perform the steps described here:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn205286.aspx
• SQLIO, as described at http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2013/03/25/sqlio-powershell-and-storage-performance-measuring-iops-throughput-and-latency-for-both-local-disks-and-smb-file-shares.aspx

Notes and disclaimers:

• A certain familiarity with Windows administration and configuration is assumed. If you’re new to Windows, this document is not for you. Sorry…
• If you are asked a question or required to perform an action that you do not see described in these steps, go with the default option.
• There are usually several ways to perform a specific configuration or administration task. What I describe here is one of those many ways. It’s not necessarily the best way, just the one I personally like best at the moment.
• For the most part, I use PowerShell to configure the systems. You can also use a graphical interface instead, but I did not describe those steps here.
• The specific Storage Spaces configuration shown in this blog post is not supported. Microsoft Support will only answer questions and assist in troubleshooting configurations where Storage Spaces uses a physical machine (not a VM) and uses one of the certified JBOD hardware solutions (see http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/results.aspx?&chtext=&cstext=&csttext=&chbtext=&bCatID=1642&cpID=0&avc=10&ava=0&avq=0&OR=1&PGS=25&ready=0)
• Because of the item above, the configuration described here should only be used for demos, testing or learning environments.

4. Configure the physical host

 

# Preparation steps: Install Window Server 2012 R2 Preview

# Install required roles and features, restart at the end

Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools –Restart

# Create 4 VHDX files on the SSD with 10GB each

1..4 | % { New-VHD -Path D:VMSVMA_SSD_$_.VHDX -Fixed –Size 10GB}

 

# Create 8 VHDX files on the HDD with 30GB each

1..8 | % { New-VHD -Path E:VMSVMA_HDD_$_.VHDX -Fixed –Size 30GB}

 

# Create a new VM. Assumes you have an Windows Server 2012 R2 OS VHDX in place

New-VM -Name VMA -Path D:VMS –VHDPath D:VMSVMA_OS.VHDX -Memory 2GB

 

# Add all data disks to the VM

1..4 | % { Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VMA -ControllerType SCSI -Path D:VMSVMA_SSD_$_.VHDX }

1..8 | % { Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VMA -ControllerType SCSI -Path E:VMSVMA_HDD_$_.VHDX }

# Start the VM

Start-VM VMA

5. Check VM configuration (from the Host, with output)

PS C:>Get-VM VMA 
  
Name State   CPUUsage(%) MemoryAssigned(M) Uptime   Status 
---- -----   ----------- ----------------- ------   ------ 
VMA  Running 0           2048              00:01:52 Operating normally 
  
PS C:>Get-VM VMA | Get-VMHardDiskDrive 
  
VMName ControllerType ControllerNumber ControllerLocation DiskNumber Path 
------ -------------- ---------------- ------------------ ---------- ---- 
VMA    IDE            0                0                             D:VMSVMA_OS.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                0                             D:VMSVMA_SSD_1.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                1                             D:VMSVMA_SSD_2.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                2                             D:VMSVMA_SSD_3.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                3                             D:VMSVMA_SSD_4.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                4                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_1.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                5                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_2.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                6                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_3.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                7                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_4.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                8                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_5.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                9                             E:VMSVMA_HDD_6.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                10                            E:VMSVMA_HDD_7.VHDX 
VMA    SCSI           0                11                            E:VMSVMA_HDD_8.VHDX 
  

6. Check VM configuration (from the Guest, with output)

 

PS C:> Get-PhysicalDisk | Sort Size | FT DeviceId, FriendlyName, CanPool, Size, MediaType -AutoSize

DeviceId FriendlyName   CanPool        Size MediaType
——– ————   ——-        —- ———
2        PhysicalDisk2     True 10737418240 UnSpecified
4        PhysicalDisk4     True 10737418240 UnSpecified
3        PhysicalDisk3     True 10737418240 UnSpecified
1        PhysicalDisk1     True 10737418240 UnSpecified
12       PhysicalDisk12    True 32212254720 UnSpecified
11       PhysicalDisk11    True 32212254720 Unspecified
7        PhysicalDisk7     True 32212254720 Unspecified
6        PhysicalDisk6     True 32212254720 Unspecified
5        PhysicalDisk5     True 32212254720 Unspecified
10       PhysicalDisk10    True 32212254720 UnSpecified
9        PhysicalDisk9     True 32212254720 Unspecified
8        PhysicalDisk8     True 32212254720 Unspecified
0        PhysicalDisk0    False 42949672960 Unspecified
 
PS C:> Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true | ? Size -lt 20GB | Sort Size | FT -AutoSize

FriendlyName  CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage        Size
————  ——- —————– ———— —–        —-
PhysicalDisk4 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 10 GB
PhysicalDisk2 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 10 GB
PhysicalDisk1 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 10 GB
PhysicalDisk3 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 10 GB
 
PS C:> Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true | ? Size -gt 20GB | Sort Size | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName   CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage        Size
————   ——- —————– ———— —–        —-
PhysicalDisk6  True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk11 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk12 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk7  True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk5  True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk10 True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk8  True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
PhysicalDisk9  True    OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 30 GB
 

7. Configure media type for virtual SAS disks

 

# Create Storage Pool

$s = Get-StorageSubSystem

New-StoragePool -StorageSubSystemId $s.UniqueId -FriendlyName Pool1 -PhysicalDisks (Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true)

 

# Configure media type for virtual SAS disks

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-PhysicalDisk | ? Size -lt 20GB | Set-PhysicalDisk –MediaType SSD

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-PhysicalDisk | ? Size -gt 20GB | Set-PhysicalDisk –MediaType HDD

8. Check media type configuration (with output)

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1

FriendlyName            OperationalStatus       HealthStatus            IsPrimordial            IsReadOnly

————            —————–       ————            ————            ———-

Pool1                   OK                      Healthy                 False                   False

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-PhysicalDisk | Sort Size | FT –AutoSize

FriendlyName   CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage           Size

————   ——- —————– ———— —–           —-

PhysicalDisk3  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select  9.25 GB

PhysicalDisk2  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select  9.25 GB

PhysicalDisk1  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select  9.25 GB

PhysicalDisk4  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select  9.25 GB

PhysicalDisk11 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk12 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk7  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk6  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk9  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk5  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk8  False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PhysicalDisk10 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 29.25 GB

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-PhysicalDisk | Sort Size | FT FriendlyName, Size, MediaType, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus -AutoSize

FriendlyName          Size MediaType HealthStatus OperationalStatus

————          —- ——— ———— —————–

PhysicalDisk3   9932111872 SSD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk2   9932111872 SSD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk1   9932111872 SSD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk4   9932111872 SSD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk11 31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk12 31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk7  31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk6  31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk9  31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk5  31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk8  31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PhysicalDisk10 31406948352 HDD       Healthy      OK

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-PhysicalDisk | Group MediaType, Size | Sort Name | FT -AutoSize

Count Name             Group

—– —-             —–

    8 HDD, 31406948352 {MSFT_PhysicalDisk (ObjectId = “{1}\WIN-T5PORQGQECNroot/Microsoft/Win…), MSFT_PhysicalDis…

    4 SSD, 9932111872  {MSFT_PhysicalDisk (ObjectId = “{1}\WIN-T5PORQGQECNroot/Microsoft/Win…), MSFT_PhysicalDis…

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | FL Size, AllocatedSize

Size          : 290984034304 
AllocatedSize : 3221225472

 

9. Configure Tiers

 

# Configure two tiers

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | New-StorageTier –FriendlyName SSDTier –MediaType SSD

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | New-StorageTier –FriendlyName HDDTier –MediaType HDD

 

10. Check Tiers configuration (with output)

 

PS C:> Get-StorageTier | FT FriendlyName, MediaType, Size -AutoSize

FriendlyName   MediaType        Size

————   ———        —-

SSDTier        SSD                 0

HDDTier        HDD                 0

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | FL Size, AllocatedSize

Size          : 290984034304

AllocatedSize : 3221225472

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              4294967296 34359738368      4294967296

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Mirror | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              2147483648 17179869184      2147483648

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize HDDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin  TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———–  ———– —————

{}              8589934592 249108103168      8589934592

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize HDDTier -ResiliencySettingName Mirror | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin  TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———–  ———– —————

{}              4294967296 124554051584      4294967296

11. Resiliency Settings and Spaces

# Configure resiliency settings

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Set-ResiliencySetting -Name Simple -NumberOfColumnsDefault 4

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Set-ResiliencySetting -Name Mirror -NumberOfColumnsDefault 2

# Create simple and mirrored spaces with tiering

$SSD = Get-StorageTier -FriendlyName SSDTier

$HDD = Get-StorageTier -FriendlyName HDDTier

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 -ResiliencySettingName Simple –StorageTiers $SSD, $HDD -StorageTierSizes 8GB, 32GB -WriteCacheSize 1GB

Get-StoragePool Pool1 | New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space2 -ResiliencySettingName Mirror -StorageTiers $SSD, $HDD -StorageTierSizes 8GB, 32GB –WriteCacheSize 1GB

12. Check Storage Spaces configuration (with output)

 

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | Get-ResiliencySetting | FT -AutoSize

Name   NumberOfDataCopies PhysicalDiskRedundancy NumberOfColumns Interleave

—-   —————— ———————- ————— ———-

Simple 1                  0                      4               262144

Mirror 2                  1                      2               262144

Parity 1                  1                      Auto            262144

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk | FT -AutoSize

FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach  Size

———— ——————— —————– ———— ————–  —-

Space1       Simple                OK                Healthy      False          40 GB

Space2       Mirror                OK                Healthy      False          40 GB

PS C:> Get-StorageTier | FT FriendlyName, MediaType, Size -AutoSize

FriendlyName   MediaType        Size

————   ———        —-

SSDTier        SSD                 0

HDDTier        HDD                 0

Space1_SSDTier SSD        8589934592

Space1_HDDTier HDD       34359738368

Space2_SSDTier SSD        8589934592

Space2_HDDTier HDD       34359738368

PS C:> Get-StoragePool Pool1 | FL Size, AllocatedSize

Size          : 290984034304

AllocatedSize : 136365211648

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              4294967296  4294967296      4294967296

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Mirror | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              2147483648  2147483648      2147483648

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize HDDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin  TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———–  ———– —————

{}              4294967296 146028888064      4294967296

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize HDDTier -ResiliencySettingName Mirror | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              2147483648 73014444032      2147483648

Note: 136GB left on the SSD Tier. 68GB available if mirroring.

 

13. Create Partitions and Volumes

 

# Configure volume “F” on Space1

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Set-Disk -IsReadOnly 0

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Set-Disk -IsOffline 0

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle GPT

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | New-Partition -DriveLetter “F” -UseMaximumSize

Initialize-Volume -DriveLetter “F” -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false

 

# Configure volume “G” on Space2

Get-VirtualDisk Space2 | Get-Disk | Set-Disk -IsReadOnly 0

Get-VirtualDisk Space2 | Get-Disk | Set-Disk -IsOffline 0

Get-VirtualDisk Space2 | Get-Disk | Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle GPT

Get-VirtualDisk Space2 | Get-Disk | New-Partition -DriveLetter “G” -UseMaximumSize

Initialize-Volume -DriveLetter “G” -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false

14. Check Partitions and Volumes (with output)

 

PS C:> Get-Partition | ? DriveLetter -ge “F” | FT -AutoSize

   Disk Number: 13




PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset        Size Type

--------------- ----------- ------        ---- ----

2               F           135266304 39.87 GB Basic




   Disk Number: 14




PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset        Size Type

--------------- ----------- ------        ---- ----

2               G           135266304 39.87 GB Basic




PS C:> Get-Volume | ? DriveLetter -ge "F" | FT -AutoSize




DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining     Size

----------- --------------- ---------- --------- ------------ -------------     ----

F                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           39.75 GB 39.87 GB

G                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           39.75 GB 39.87 GB

 

15. Create Test Files

 

# Create 3 files on volume “F”, place them on different tiers

1..3 | % {

   fsutil file createnew f:file$_.dat (4GB)

   fsutil file setvaliddata f:file$_.dat (4GB)

}

Set-FileStorageTier -FilePath f:file1.dat -DesiredStorageTierFriendlyName Space1_SSDTier

Set-FileStorageTier -FilePath f:file2.dat -DesiredStorageTierFriendlyName Space1_HDDTier

Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter F

# Create 3 files on volume “G”, place them on different tiers

1..3 | % {

   fsutil file createnew g:file$_.dat (4GB)

   fsutil file setvaliddata g:file$_.dat (4GB)

}

Set-FileStorageTier -FilePath g:file1.dat -DesiredStorageTierFriendlyName Space2_SSDTier

Set-FileStorageTier -FilePath g:file2.dat -DesiredStorageTierFriendlyName Space2_HDDTier

Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter G

16. Check Test Files (with output)

 

PS C:> Dir F:




    Directory: f:




Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name

----                -------------     ------ ----

-a---         8/21/2013  10:09 AM 4294967296 file1.dat

-a---         8/21/2013  10:09 AM 4294967296 file2.dat

-a---         8/21/2013  10:09 AM 4294967296 file3.dat




PS C:> Dir G:




    Directory: g:




Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name

----                -------------     ------ ----

-a---         8/21/2013  10:08 AM 4294967296 file1.dat

-a---         8/21/2013  10:08 AM 4294967296 file2.dat

-a---         8/21/2013  10:08 AM 4294967296 file3.dat




PS C:sqlio> Get-Volume | ? DriveLetter -ge "F" | FT -AutoSize




DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining     Size

----------- --------------- ---------- --------- ------------ -------------     ----

F                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           27.75 GB 39.87 GB

G                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           27.75 GB 39.87 GB




PS C:> Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter F | FT -AutoSize




FilePath     DesiredStorageTierName PlacementStatus    State

--------     ---------------------- ---------------    -----

F:file1.dat Space1_SSDTier         Completely on tier OK

F:file2.dat Space1_HDDTier         Partially on tier  Pending




PS C:> Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter G | FT -AutoSize




FilePath     DesiredStorageTierName PlacementStatus    State

--------     ---------------------- ---------------    -----

G:file1.dat Space2_SSDTier         Completely on tier OK

G:file2.dat Space2_HDDTier         Partially on tier  Pending

 

17. Tasks for Storage Tiering

 

# Check tasks used by Storage Tiering

Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName *Tier* | FT –AutoSize

Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName *Tier* | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

# Manually running the “Storage Tiers Optimization” task

Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName “Storage Tiers Optimization” | Start-ScheduledTask

 

18. Tasks for Storage Tiering (with Output)

 

PS C:> Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName *Tier*  | FT –AutoSize

TaskPath                                     TaskName                                State

——–                                     ——–                                —–

MicrosoftWindowsStorage Tiers Management Storage Tiers Management Initialization Ready

MicrosoftWindowsStorage Tiers Management Storage Tiers Optimization              Ready

PS C:> Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName *Tier*  | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

LastRunTime        :

LastTaskResult     : 1

NextRunTime        : 8/22/2013 1:00:00 AM

NumberOfMissedRuns : 0

TaskName           : Storage Tiers Optimization

TaskPath           : MicrosoftWindowsStorage Tiers Management

PSComputerName     :

LastRunTime        : 8/21/2013 11:18:18 AM

LastTaskResult     : 0

NextRunTime        :

NumberOfMissedRuns : 0

TaskName           : Storage Tiers Management Initialization

TaskPath           : MicrosoftWindowsStorage Tiers Management

PSComputerName     :

PS C:> Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName “Storage Tiers Optimization” | Start-ScheduledTask

PS C:> Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName “Storage Tiers Optimization” | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

LastRunTime        : 8/21/2013 12:11:11 PM

LastTaskResult     : 267009

NextRunTime        : 8/22/2013 1:00:00 AM

NumberOfMissedRuns : 0

TaskName           : Storage Tiers Optimization

TaskPath           : MicrosoftWindowsStorage Tiers Management

PSComputerName     :

 

19. Running SQLIO

# These commands assume that the SQLIO2.EXE file was copied to the C:SQLIO folder

# SQLIO workload 1 : 30 seconds, random, read, 8KB, 4 thread, 16 outstanding IOs, no buffering

# SQLIO workload 2 : 30 seconds, sequential, read, 512KB, 4 thread, 4 outstanding IOs, no buffering

 

# Check file location on tiers for volume F:

Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter F | FT -AutoSize

 

# Running SQLIO on F:, using File1 (HDD tier), File2 (HDD tier) and File 3 (unspecified tier)

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file1.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file2.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file3.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file1.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file2.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file3.dat

 

# Check file location on tiers for volume G:

Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter G | FT -AutoSize

 

# Running SQLIO on G:, using File1 (HDD tier), File2 (HDD tier) and File 3 (unspecified tier)

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file1.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file2.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file3.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file1.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file2.dat

c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file3.dat

 

20. Running SQLIO (with Output)

 

PS C:> Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter F | FT -AutoSize

FilePath     DesiredStorageTierName PlacementStatus    State

——–     ———————- —————    —–

F:file1.dat Space1_SSDTier         Completely on tier OK

F:file2.dat Space1_HDDTier         Completely on tier OK

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file1.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file1.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file1.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec: 35745.63

MBs/sec:   279.26

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file2.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file2.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file2.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   141.57

MBs/sec:     1.10

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN f:file3.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file3.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file3.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   384.86

MBs/sec:     3.00

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file1.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file1.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file1.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   998.25

MBs/sec:   499.12

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file2.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file2.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file2.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:    81.30

MBs/sec:    40.65

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN f:file3.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file f:file3.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: f:file3.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   148.51

MBs/sec:    74.25

PS C:> Get-FileStorageTier -VolumeDriveLetter G | FT -AutoSize

FilePath     DesiredStorageTierName PlacementStatus    State

——–     ———————- —————    —–

G:file1.dat Space2_SSDTier         Completely on tier OK

G:file2.dat Space2_HDDTier         Completely on tier OK

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file1.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file1.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file1.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec: 35065.17

MBs/sec:   273.94

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file2.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file2.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file2.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   138.98

MBs/sec:     1.08

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -frandom -kR -b8 -t4 -o16 -BN g:file3.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file3.dat

        using 8KB random IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 16 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file3.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   360.33

MBs/sec:     2.81

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file1.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file1.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file1.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   997.90

MBs/sec:   498.95

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file2.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file2.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file2.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   118.34

MBs/sec:    59.17

PS C:> c:sqliosqlio2.exe -s30 -fsequential -kR -b512 -t4 -o4 -BN g:file3.dat

sqlio v2.15. 64bit_SG

4 threads reading for 30 secs to file g:file3.dat

        using 512KB sequential IOs

        enabling multiple I/Os per thread with 4 outstanding

        buffering set to not use file nor disk caches (as is SQL Server)

using current size: 4096 MB for file: g:file3.dat

initialization done

CUMULATIVE DATA:

throughput metrics:

IOs/sec:   197.65

MBs/sec:    98.82

21. Summary of SQLIO Results

Here’s the summary of the SQLIO runs:

Note 1: In general, this is working as expected. File1 (SSD Tier) shows SSD performance characteristics while File 2 (HDD Tier) behaves like a spinning disk. File3 is somewhere between the two.

Note 2: These results are not meant to showcase the true performance of a production tiered storage solution. Keep in mind that there is only one physical SSD and one physical HDD behind all the virtual layers. Both simple and mirrored are spaces are basically limited by the hardware limitations of the two disks.

Note 3: This shows the results of a single run of each workload, so some variance is expected. If you are running this in your own setup, you might want to run each workload multiple times and average it out. There’s some guidance to that regard at http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2013/03/25/sqlio-powershell-and-storage-performance-measuring-iops-throughput-and-latency-for-both-local-disks-and-smb-file-shares.aspx

 

22. Extending existing Spaces and Volumes

 

# Check state before change

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | FT -AutoSize

Get-StorageTier Space1* | FT FriendlyName, Size –AutoSize

Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT –AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT –AutoSize

# Add 4GB on the SSD Tier

Resize-StorageTier Space1_SSDTier -Size 12GB

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Update-Disk

# Check after Virtual Disk change

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | FT -AutoSize

Get-StorageTier Space1* | FT FriendlyName, Size –AutoSize

Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT –AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT –AutoSize

# Extend partition (also extends the volume)

Resize-Partition -DriveLetter F -Size 43.87GB

# Check after Partition/Volume change

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT –AutoSize

Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT –AutoSize

23. Extending existing Spaces and Volumes (with output)

 

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | FT -AutoSize

FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach  Size

———— ——————— —————– ———— ————–  —-

Space1       Simple                OK                Healthy      False          40 GB

PS C:> Get-StorageTier Space1* | FT FriendlyName, Size –AutoSize

FriendlyName          Size

————          —-

Space1_SSDTier  8589934592

Space1_HDDTier 34359738368

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}              4294967296  4294967296      4294967296

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize

Number Friendly Name                  OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style

—— ————-                  —————– ———- —————

13     Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                 40 GB GPT

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT -AutoSize

   Disk Number: 13

PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset        Size Type

————— ———– ——        —- —-

1                           24576       128 MB Reserved

2               F           135266304 39.87 GB Basic

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT -AutoSize

DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining     Size

———– ————— ———- ——— ———— ————-     —-

F                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           27.75 GB 39.87 GB

PS C:> Resize-StorageTier Space1_SSDTier -Size 12GB

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Update-Disk

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | FT -AutoSize

FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach  Size

———— ——————— —————– ———— ————–  —-

Space1       Simple                OK                Healthy      False          44 GB

PS C:> Get-StorageTier Space1* | FT FriendlyName, Size –AutoSize

FriendlyName          Size

————          —-

Space1_SSDTier 12884901888

Space1_HDDTier 34359738368

PS C:> Get-StorageTierSupportedSize SSDTier -ResiliencySettingName Simple | FT -AutoSize

SupportedSizes TierSizeMin TierSizeMax TierSizeDivisor

————– ———– ———– —————

{}                       0           0               0

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize

Number Friendly Name                  OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style

—— ————-                  —————– ———- —————

13     Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                 44 GB GPT

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT –AutoSize

   Disk Number: 13

PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset        Size Type

————— ———– ——        —- —-

1                           24576       128 MB Reserved

2               F           135266304 39.87 GB Basic

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT –AutoSize

DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining     Size

———– ————— ———- ——— ———— ————-     —-

F                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           27.75 GB 39.87 GB

PS C:> Resize-Partition -DriveLetter F -Size 43.87GB

 

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | FT –AutoSize

   Disk Number: 13

PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset        Size Type

————— ———– ——        —- —-

1                           24576       128 MB Reserved

2               F           135266304 43.87 GB Basic

PS C:> Get-VirtualDisk Space1 | Get-Disk | Get-Partition | Get-Volume | FT –AutoSize

DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining     Size

———– ————— ———- ——— ———— ————-     —-

F                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy           31.75 GB 43.87 GB

24. Final Notes

• I hope you enjoyed these step-by-step instructions. I strongly encourage you to try them out and perform the entire installation yourself. It’s a good learning experience.
• Let me know how these steps worked for you using the comment section. If you run into any issues or found anything particularly interesting, don’t forget to mention the number of the step.

For additional content related to Storage Spaces, check these:

• Blog – Step-by-Step for Mirrored Storage Spaces Resiliency using PowerShell
• Blog – How to Configure a Clustered Storage Space in Windows Server 2012
• Blog – Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage: Step-by-step with Storage Spaces, SMB Scale-Out and Shared VHDX (Virtual)
• Blog – Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage: Step-by-step with Storage Spaces, SMB Scale-Out and Shared VHDX (Physical)
• Wiki – Storage Spaces Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Script Center – Storage Spaces Physical Disk Validation Script
• Windows Server Catalog – JBODs certified for Storage Spaces