Step-by-Step for Mirrored Storage Spaces Resiliency using PowerShell

Uncategorized 11 Minutes
 
0 – Overview

 
This blog post is a walkthrough of the resiliency offered by Storage Spaces when using mirrored spaces.
For this exercise we have a single virtual machine with multiple data disks used to create the spaces.
The idea is to simulate a number of different failure and recovery scenarios, reviewing the behavior.
It includes the procedure to replace a disk and repair a degraded Space.

Notes and disclaimers:

  • Obviously, putting all virtual disks on a single physical disk won’t provide real resiliency.
  • 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?bCatID=1573&cpID=0&avc=10&OR=1)
  • Because of the two items above, the configuration described here should only be used for demos, testing or learning environments.
 
1 – Two-way mirror with 3 disks
 
Part 1 of this post focuses on testing the resiliency of a two-way mirrored virtual disk (storage space) on a storage pool with 3 physical disks.
For each section you have the steps to perform (useful if you want to cut/paste), the actual output of the cmdlets on my test system and finally some notes explaining what happened.
 
1.1 – Attach 3 disks to a VM
 
Steps to perform on the host:
 
1..3 | % { New-VHD –Path D:demodisk$_.VHDX –Dynamic –SizeBytes 20GB } | Out-Null
1..3 | % { Add-VMHardDiskDrive –VMName VM2 –Path D:demodisk$_.VHDX -ControllerType SCSI}
Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2
 
Output:
 
PS C:> 1..3 | % { New-VHD –Path D:demodisk$_.VHDX –Dynamic –SizeBytes 20GB } | Out-Null
PS C:> 1..3 | % { Add-VMHardDiskDrive –VMName VM2 –Path D:demodisk$_.VHDX -ControllerType SCSI}
PS C:> Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2
 
VMName ControllerType ControllerNumber ControllerLocation DiskNumber Path
—— ————– —————- —————— ———- —-
VM2    IDE            0                0                             c:demov2.vhdx
VM2    SCSI           0                0                             D:demodisk1.VHDX
VM2    SCSI           0                1                             D:demodisk2.VHDX
VM2    SCSI           0                2                             D:demodisk3.VHDX
 
Notes:
 
Nothing much. Just your regular VM with 1 IDE boot disk and 3 SCSI data disks.
 
1.2 – Create pool and mirrored space
 
Steps to perform on the guest:
 
$s = Get-StorageSubSystem -FriendlyName *Spaces*
$d = Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true
New-StoragePool -FriendlyName Pool1 -StorageSubSystemFriendlyName $s.FriendlyName -PhysicalDisks $d
$p = Get-StoragePool Pool1
Set-ResiliencySetting -StoragePool $p -Name Mirror -NumberofColumnsDefault 1 -NumberOfDataCopiesDefault 2
$p | New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 -ResiliencySettingName Mirror –UseMaximumSize
 
$L =”X”
$N = (Get-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 | Get-Disk).Number
Set-Disk -Number $N -IsReadOnly 0
Set-Disk -Number $N -IsOffline 0
Initialize-Disk -Number $N -PartitionStyle MBR
New-Partition -DiskNumber $N -DriveLetter $L -UseMaximumSize 
Start-Sleep –Seconds 10
Initialize-Volume -DriveLetter $L -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false
 
Output:
 
PS C:> $s = Get-StorageSubSystem -FriendlyName *Spaces*
PS C:> $d = Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true
PS C:> New-StoragePool -FriendlyName Pool1 -StorageSubSystemFriendlyName $s.FriendlyName -PhysicalDisks $d
 
FriendlyName            OperationalStatus       HealthStatus            IsPrimordial            IsReadOnly
————            —————–       ————            ————            ———-
Pool1                   OK                      Healthy                 False                   False
 
PS C:> $p = Get-StoragePool Pool1
PS C:> Set-ResiliencySetting -StoragePool $p -Name Mirror -NumberofColumnsDefault 1 -NumberOfDataCopiesDefault 2
PS C:> $p | New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 -ResiliencySettingName Mirror –UseMaximumSize
 
FriendlyName        ResiliencySettingNa OperationalStatus   HealthStatus        IsManualAttach                     Size
                    me
————        ——————- —————–   ————        ————–                     —-
Space1              Mirror              OK                  Healthy             False                             27 GB
 
PS C:> $L =”X”
PS C:> $N = (Get-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 | Get-Disk).Number
PS C:> Set-Disk -Number $N -IsReadOnly 0
PS C:> Set-Disk -Number $N -IsOffline 0
PS C:> Initialize-Disk -Number $N -PartitionStyle MBR
PS C:> New-Partition -DiskNumber $N -DriveLetter $L -UseMaximumSize
 
   Disk Number: 4
 
PartitionNumber  DriveLetter Offset                                        Size Type
—————  ———– ——                                        —- —-
1                X           1048576                                      27 GB Logical
 
PS C:> Start-Sleep –Seconds 10
PS C:> Initialize-Volume -DriveLetter $L -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false
 
DriveLetter       FileSystemLabel  FileSystem       DriveType        HealthStatus        SizeRemaining             Size
———–       —————  ———-       ———        ————        ————-             —-
X                                  NTFS             Fixed            Healthy                   26.9 GB            27 GB
 
Notes:
 
Created a Pool and Space. Resulting disk is initialized and mounted as volume X:.
 
1.3 – Verify health of the pool and space
 
Steps to perform on the guest:
 
Get-Volume X | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-StoragePool | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-PhysicalDisk | FT -AutoSize
 
Output:
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | FT -AutoSize
 
DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining  Size
———– ————— ———- ——— ———— ————-  —-
X                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy            26.9 GB 27 GB
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | FT -AutoSize
 
   Disk Number: 4
 
PartitionNumber DriveLetter Offset   Size Type
————— ———– ——   —- —-
1               X           1048576 27 GB IFS
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | FT -AutoSize
 
Number Friendly Name                  OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style
—— ————-                  —————– ———- —————
4      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                 27 GB MBR
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach  Size
———— ——————— —————– ———— ————–  —-
Space1       Mirror                OK                Healthy      False          27 GB
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-StoragePool | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsPrimordial IsReadOnly
———— —————– ———— ———— ———-
Pool1        OK                Healthy      False        False
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-PhysicalDisk | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName  CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage           Size
————  ——- —————– ———— —–           —-
PhysicalDisk2 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 19.25 GB
PhysicalDisk1 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 19.25 GB
PhysicalDisk3 False   OK                Healthy      Auto-Select 19.25 GB
 
Notes:
 
All is healthy: Volume, Space (Virtual Disk), Pool and Physical Disks.
 
1.4 – Remove 1 disk
 
Steps to perform on the host:
 
Remove-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2 -ControllerType SCSI -ControllerNumber 0 -ControllerLocation 0
Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2
 
Output:
 
PS C:> Remove-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2 -ControllerType SCSI -ControllerNumber 0 -ControllerLocation 0
PS C:> Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName VM2
 
VMName ControllerType ControllerNumber ControllerLocation DiskNumber Path
—— ————– —————- —————— ———- —-
VM2    IDE            0                0                             c:demov2.vhdx
VM2    SCSI           0                1                             D:demodisk2.VHDX
VM2    SCSI           0                2                             D:demodisk3.VHDX
 
Notes:
 
Removed one of the 3 SCSI disks for the VM.
That is the equivalent, in a physical machine, to pulling a drive out while the system is running (assuming you have a drive that supports hot removal).
 
1.5 – Verify effect on the pool and space
 
Steps to perform on the guest:
 
Get-Volume X | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-StoragePool | FT -AutoSize
Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-PhysicalDisk | FT -AutoSize
Get-EventLog -LogName System -Source Disk | ? EntryType -ne “Information” | FL
Get-WinEvent -LogName Microsoft-Windows-Stor* | ? Level -lt 4 | FL
 
Output:
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | FT -AutoSize
 
DriveLetter FileSystemLabel FileSystem DriveType HealthStatus SizeRemaining  Size
———– ————— ———- ——— ———— ————-  —-
X                           NTFS       Fixed     Healthy            26.9 GB 27 GB
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach  Size
———— ——————— —————– ———— ————–  —-
Space1       Mirror                Incomplete        Warning      False          27 GB
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-StoragePool | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsPrimordial IsReadOnly
———— —————– ———— ———— ———-
Pool1        Degraded          Warning      False        False
 
PS C:> Get-Volume X | Get-Partition | Get-Disk | Get-VirtualDisk | Get-PhysicalDisk | FT -AutoSize
 
FriendlyName   CanPool OperationalStatus  HealthStatus Usage           Size
————   ——- —————–  ———— —–           —-
PhysicalDisk
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Published by joseabarreto

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6 thoughts on “Step-by-Step for Mirrored Storage Spaces Resiliency using PowerShell”

  1. Wow with all this info I might actually be able to figure out if my storage space is repairable. Been showing up as degraded even though I already replaced bad for several days now. I know it’s supposed to carry out the repairs without user intervention
    but if it’s taking this long it’d be nice to know if it’s normal. Anyways, found out about Get-VirtualDisk cmdlet from

    https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/11382.storage-spaces-frequently-asked-questions-faq.aspx#How_do_I_replace_a_physical_disk which shows incomplete which let me to this page which seems will be more helpful than anything I"ve come
    across yet!

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  3. Pingback from Nice to Know – MPIO “may” need to be configured correctly to increase performance when using Storage Spaces in Windows Server 2012 R2 « The Deployment Bunny

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  4. Pingback from A collection of Windows Server 2012 R2 / Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 links and related articles | Ahmad Sabry ElGendi

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