If you work with storage, you probably already heard about the “4K Sector Drives”, “Advanced Format Drives” and “512e drives”. These new “4K sector drives” abandon the traditional use of 512 bytes per sector in favor of a new structure that uses 4096 bytes. The migration to the new formats is eased by the use … Continue reading Using 4k sector and advanced format drives in Windows. HotFix and support info for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7
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FSCT test results detail the performance of Windows Server 2008 R2 File Server configurations – 23,000 users with 192 spindles
1. Introduction The File Server Capacity Tool (FSCT) is a free download from Microsoft that helps you determine the capacity of a specific file server configuration (running Windows or any operating system that implements the SMB or SMB2 protocols). It simulates a specific set of operations (the “Home Folders” workload) being executed by a large … Continue reading FSCT test results detail the performance of Windows Server 2008 R2 File Server configurations – 23,000 users with 192 spindles
Updated iSCSI Initiator Users Guide for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
We just got an updated version of the “iSCSI Initiator Users Guide for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2“ posted on the Microsoft Download Center by Bruce Langworthy, the iSCSI Initiator PM. Here’s a summary of the contents of this 82-page Word document: · Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Step-by-Step Guide· Understanding Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Features and … Continue reading Updated iSCSI Initiator Users Guide for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 for Windows Server 2008 R2 available for public download
Introduction For the last few years, I’ve been blogging about the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target and its many uses related to Windows Server Failover Clustering, Hyper-V and other server scenarios. Today, Microsoft has made this software publicly available to all users of Windows Server 2008 R2. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target has been available for … Continue reading Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 for Windows Server 2008 R2 available for public download
File Server improvements from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2. 8 items for 8 years…
Introduction The File Server team often talks to customers about file server migration and file server consolidation projects. Many times, these are customers running Windows Server 2003 that can point to a number of issues they wanted fixed. In most cases, those issues have been identified and corrected in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server … Continue reading File Server improvements from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2. 8 items for 8 years…
SQL over SMB2 – One of the top 10 hidden gems in SQL Server 2008 R2
Introduction The SQL CAT team has posted a blog last year about the "Top 10 hidden gems in SQL Server 2008 R2", which included the support for placing SQL database files on an SMB network file share. This works even better if you use the SMB2 version of the protocol, which is included in Windows Server … Continue reading SQL over SMB2 – One of the top 10 hidden gems in SQL Server 2008 R2
New white paper providing guidance for sizing NTFS volumes
A new white paper covering "NTFS CHKDSK Best Practices and Performance" was posted today at microsoft.com/downloads, covering the CHKDSK improvement in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This was first highlighted in a blog post by Claus Joergensen in the Filecab blog. Claus mentioned: "Today, Microsoft released a new white paper discussing best practices … Continue reading New white paper providing guidance for sizing NTFS volumes
Ranking the SMB rules in the File Services Best Practices Analyzer tool (BPA)
As you probably know, the File Services team provides a Best Practices Analyzer tool (BPA). It includes several rules for the configuration, operation, performance and security of the SMB, NFS, DFS-N, DFS-R and FSRM.I was recently looking at the pageview statistics for each of the rules for the SMB component and found how how the … Continue reading Ranking the SMB rules in the File Services Best Practices Analyzer tool (BPA)
Great SQL Server Storage advice from a team deploying SQL with LOB apps
During an internal conference this week I came across a group at Microsoft Services that works directly with customers that are deploying SQL Server to support line-of-business applications like like SAP and JD Edwards. They pointed me to their recent blog (started in September 2010) which already produced excellent technical and business content. Out of … Continue reading Great SQL Server Storage advice from a team deploying SQL with LOB apps
New white paper: Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Architecture and Deployment
A new white paper about Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Architecture and Deployment (including the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3) has just been published. Here's an outline of this content: Introduction Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Overview Comparing Windows Server Operating System Storage Offerings Comparing Windows Storage Server with Windows Server Identifying Windows Storage Server … Continue reading New white paper: Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Architecture and Deployment
Jose Barreto's Blog 