Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage: SMB Scale-Out and Shared VHDX Here are the details about the names, roles and IP addresses for each of the computers involved:

VM Computer

Role Net2 (DC/DNS)

Host

HOST2 Hyper-V Host 192.168.100.1/24

VM1 CBC-D DNS, DC 192.168.100.100/24

VM2 CBC-A1 Cluster Node 1 192.168.100.101/24

VM3 CBC-A2 Cluster Node 2 192.168.100.102/24

VM4 CBC-A3 Cluster Node 3 192.168.100.103/24

VM5 CBC-V VMM / Client 192.168.100.104/24

  CBC-A Cluster 192.168.100.110/24

  CBC-F Scale-Out File Server

N/A

 

1) Configure the physical host 

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer, enable remote desktop

# Prepare base image: Install WS2012R2

C:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown /quiet

# Install required roles and features, restart at the end Install-WindowsFeature Failover-Clustering -IncludeManagementTools Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

# Create a new Internal Switch New-VMSwitch -Name Net2 -SwitchType Internal Get-NetAdapter *Net2* | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName vNet2

# Configure vNet2 (parent port for internal switch) with a static IP address for DNS / DC Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias vNet2 -DHCP Disabled

Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias vNet2 -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias vNet2 -IPAddress 192.168.100.1 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias vNet2 -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.1

# Create 5 VMs, assumes there is a base VM ready at E:\VMS\BaseOS.VHDX 1..5 | % { New-VHD -Path E:\VMS\VM$_.VHDX –ParentPath E:\VMS\BaseOS.VHDX } 1..5 | % { New-VM -Name VM$_ -Path E:\VMS –VHDPath E:\VMS\VM$_.VHDX -Memory 2GB -SwitchName Net2 } # Give the VMM VM a little more RAM Set-VM -VMName VM5 -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB

# Create 3 data VHDX files 1..3 | % { New-VHD -Path E:\VMS\Data$_.VHDX -Fixed -SizeBytes 20GB }

# Manually attach volume E:\ fltMC.exe attach svhdxflt E:\ # NOTE 1: Non-CSV deployments of Shared VHDX are not supported. See the disclaimer section of this document. # NOTE 2: Manual attached is not saved across reboots. You will have to re-issue the command after each reboot.

# Add the 3 data VHDX files to each of the 3 VMs, with Sharing option 1..3 | % { $p = ”E:\VMS\Data” + $_ + ”.VHDX” ; 2..4 | % { $v = ”VM” + $_; Write-Host $v, $p; Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName $v -Path $p -ShareVirtualDisk } }

2) Configure CBC-D (DNS, DC)Start-VM –name VM1

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer Rename-Computer -NewName CBC-D -Restart

# Install required roles and features, restarts at the end Install-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services, RSAT-ADDS, RSAT-ADDS-Tools

# Configure Internal NIC with a static IP address for DNS / DC Get-NetAdapter | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName Internal Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias Internal -DHCP Disabled Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -IPAddress 192.168.100.100 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.100

# create AD forest, reboots at the end Install-ADDSForest -CreateDNSDelegation:$false -DatabasePath "C:\Windows\NTDS" -DomainMode "Win2012" -DomainName "CBC.TEST" -DomainNetBIOSName "CBC" -ForestMode "Win2012" -InstallDNS:$true -LogPath "C:\Windows\NTDS" -SYSVOLPath "C:\Windows\SYSVOL" 

 

3) Configure CBC-A1 (Cluster A) Start-VM –name VM2

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer

Rename-Computer -NewName CBC-A1 -Restart

# Install required roles and features, restarts at the end Install-WindowsFeature File-Services, FS-FileServer, Failover-Clustering Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Clustering -IncludeAllSubFeature

# Configure Internal NIC with a static IP address for DNS / DC Get-NetAdapter | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName Internal Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias Internal -DHCP Disabled Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -IPAddress 192.168.100.101 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.100

# Create 1 Pool, 7 Spaces and Initialize them # NOTE 3: Running Storage Spaces in a guest is not supported. See the disclaimer section of this document. # NOTE 4: This unsupported configuration cannot simulate Tiering or Write-back cache, since there are no SSDs.

$s = Get-StorageSubSystem -FriendlyName *Spaces* New-StoragePool -FriendlyName Pool1 -StorageSubSystemFriendlyName $s.FriendlyName -PhysicalDisks (Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true) Set-ResiliencySetting -Name Mirror -NumberofColumnsDefault 1 -StoragePool (Get-StoragePool -FriendlyName Pool1)

New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space1 -StoragePoolFriendlyName Pool1 -ResiliencySettingName Mirror –Size 1GB 2..7 | % { New-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space$_ -StoragePoolFriendlyName Pool1 -ResiliencySettingName Mirror –Size 3GB }

1..7 | % {    $Letter ="PQRSTUV”[($_-1)] $Number = (Get-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName Space$_ | Get-Disk).Number Set-Disk -Number $Number -IsReadOnly 0    Set-Disk -Number $Number -IsOffline 0 Initialize-Disk -Number $Number -PartitionStyle MBR    New-Partition -DiskNumber $Number -DriveLetter $Letter -UseMaximumSize     Initialize-Volume -DriveLetter $Letter -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false }

# Join domain, restart the machine Add-Computer -DomainName CBC.TEST -Credential (Get-Credential) –Restart

 

4) Configure CBC-A2 (Cluster A) Start-VM –name VM3

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer

Rename-Computer -NewName CBC-A2 -Restart

# Install required roles and features, restarts at the end Install-WindowsFeature File-Services, FS-FileServer, Failover-Clustering Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Clustering -IncludeAllSubFeature

# Configure Internal NIC with a static IP address for DNS / DC Get-NetAdapter | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName Internal Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias Internal -DHCP Disabled Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -IPAddress 192.168.100.102 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.100

# Join domain, restart the machine Add-Computer -DomainName CBC.TEST -Credential (Get-Credential) –Restart

 

5) Configure CBC-A3 (Cluster A) Start-VM –name VM4

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer

Rename-Computer -NewName CBC-A3 -Restart

# Install required roles and features, restarts at the end Install-WindowsFeature File-Services, FS-FileServer, Failover-Clustering Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Clustering -IncludeAllSubFeature

# Configure Internal NIC with a static IP address for DNS / DC Get-NetAdapter | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName Internal Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias Internal -DHCP Disabled Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -IPAddress 192.168.100.103 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.100

# Join domain, restart the machine Add-Computer -DomainName CBC.TEST -Credential (Get-Credential) -Restart

 

6) Configure Cluster CBC-A 

# Validate cluster Test-Cluster -Node CBC-A1, CBC-A2, CBC-A3

# Create cluster New-Cluster –Name CBC-A -Node CBC-A1, CBC-A2, CBC-A3 -StaticAddress 192.168.100.110

# Rename and configure networks (Get-ClusterNetwork).Name = “Internal”

(Get-ClusterNetwork).Role = 3 (Get-Cluster).UseClientAccessNetworksForSharedVolumes=1

# Rename Witness Disk $w = Get-ClusterResource | ? { $_.OwnerGroup -eq "Cluster Group" -and $_.ResourceType -eq "Physical Disk"} $w.Name = "WitnessDisk"

# Add remaining disks to Cluster Shared Volumes Get-ClusterResource | ? OwnerGroup -eq "Available Storage" | Add-ClusterSharedVolume

# Create Scale-Out File Server Add-ClusterScaleOutFileServerRole CBC-F

# Create SMB shares 1..6 | % { MD C:\ClusterStorage\Volume$_\Share New-SmbShare -Name Share$_ -Path C:\ClusterStorage\Volume$_\Share -FullAccess CBC.Test\Administrator Set-SmbPathAcl -ShareName Share$_ }

 

7) Configure CBC-V Start-VM –name VM5

# Preparation steps: Install WS2012R2, rename computer

Rename-Computer -NewName CBC-V -Restart

# Install required roles and features, restarts at the end Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Clustering -IncludeAllSubFeature

# Configure Internal NIC with a static IP address for DNS / DC Get-NetAdapter | Rename-NetAdapter -NewName Internal Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias Internal -DHCP Disabled Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -Confirm:$false New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -IPAddress 192.168.100.104 -PrefixLength 24 Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias Internal -ServerAddresses 192.168.100.100

# Join domain, restart the machine Add-Computer -DomainName CBC.TEST -Credential (Get-Credential) -Restart

# Map the SMB shares 1..6 | % {      $d ="PQRSTU"[($_-1)] + “:” New-SmbMapping -LocalPath $d -RemotePath \\CBC-F\Share$_ -Persistent $true }

# Create the test files 1..6 | % {     $f ="PQRSTU"[($_-1)] + “:\testfile.dat”

fsutil file createnew $f (256MB)    fsutil file setvaliddata $f (256MB) }

# Configure SMB Bandwidth Limits to avoid overloading the virtual environment

Add-WindowsFeature FS-SMBBWSet-SmbBandwidthLimit -Category Default -BytesPerSecond 16MB

# Run SQLIO (assumes SQLIO.EXE was copied to C:\SLQIO)

c:\sqlio\sqlio.exe -s9999 -kR -t1 -o16 -b8 -BN -LS -frandom -dPQRSTU testfile.dat

# To remove a node while the workload is running (wait a few minutes for rebalancing) Remove-ClusterNode -Cluster CBC-A –Name CBC-A3

# To add a node while the workload is running (wait a few minutes for rebalancing) Add-ClusterNode -Cluster CBC-A –Name CBC-A3

 

 

8) Running the tests without VMM (from CBC-V) 

Start Performance Monitor

Start a performance monitor session

Switch to “Histogram Bar” view to show the performance side-by-side

Add a counter for SMB Server Shares, Data bytes/sec, _total instance for CBC-A1, CBC-A2 and CBC-A3.

 

Query the cluster shared volume ownership on Cluster A, with 2 nodes

Get-ClusterSharedVolume -Cluster CBC-A | Sort OwnerNode | FT OwnerNode, Name, State -AutoSize

OwnerNode Name           State --------- ----           ----- CBC-A1   Cluster Disk 6 Online CBC-A1   Cluster Disk 3 Online CBC-A1   Cluster Disk 4 Online CBC-A2   Cluster Disk 7 Online CBC-A2   Cluster Disk 2 Online CBC-A2   Cluster Disk 5 Online

 

Run SQLIO to issue 8KB IOs

C:\sqlio\sqlio.exe -s9999 -kR -t1 -o16 -b8 -BN -LS -frandom -dPQRSTU testfile.dat

  

Add a 3rd node and wait for it to take 1/3 of the load

Add-ClusterNode -Cluster CBC-A -Name CBC-A3

Wait 2 and a half minutes to transition to the following state.

 

Re- query the cluster shared volume ownership on Cluster A, now with 3 nodes

Get-ClusterSharedVolume -Cluster CBC-A | Sort OwnerNode | FT OwnerNode, Name, State -AutoSize

OwnerNode Name           State --------- ----           ----- CBC-A1   Cluster Disk 3 Online CBC-A1   Cluster Disk 6 Online CBC-A2   Cluster Disk 5 Online CBC-A2   Cluster Disk 7 Online CBC-A3   Cluster Disk 2 Online CBC-A3   Cluster Disk 4 Online

9) Installing VMM on CBC-V 

# Install .NET Framework Install-WindowsFeature NET-Framework-Core

# Install Windows Server 2012 R2 ADK C:\ADK\adksetup.exe # Select only the “Deployment Tools” and “Windows PE” options

# Install SQL Server 2012 SP1 # New SQL Server standalone installation, Feature Selection: Database Engine Services

 When prompted for feature selection, install ALL of the following:

Database Engine Services

Optionally – consider adding the following to ease administration:

Management Tools – Basic and Complete (for running queries and configuring SQL services)

On the Instance configuration, choose a default instance, or a named instance. Default instances are fine for testing and labs. Production clustered instances of SQL will generally be a named instance. For the purposes of the POC, choose default instance to keep things simple.

On the Server configuration screen, set SQL Server Agent to Automatic. Click “Use the same account for all SQL Server Services, and input the SQL service account and password we created earlier.

On the Collation Tab – make sure SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS is selected, as that is the ONLY collation supported.

# Install VMM 2012 R2 # Features selected to be added: VMM management server, VMM console # Database: VirtualManagerDB database will be created on CBCBDA-V # Service Account: Local System account

 

10) Configuring VMM on CBC-V 

Bring the File Server Cluster under VMM management

Select Fabric and use the option to add Storage Devices

Add a Windows-based file server

Specify the full path to the file server cluster:

 

Verify the File Server Cluster was properly discovered by VMM

Check the provider

Check the Storage Spaces discovery

Check the Scale-Out File Server and file share discovery

11) Verifying systems’ configuration PS C:\> Get-PhysicalDisk -CimSession CBC-A1, CBC-A2, CBC-A3 | Sort PSComputerName, Size

 

PS C:\> Get-Disk -CimSession CBC-A1, CBC-A2, CBC-A3 | Sort PSComputerName, Size

Number Friendly Name                  OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style PSComputerName ------ -------------                  ----------------- ---------- --------------- -------------- 4      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  1 GB MBR             CBC-A1 10     Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR             CBC-A1 8      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR            

CBC-A1 0      Virtual HD ATA Device          Online                 40 GB MBR             CBC-A1 4      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR             CBC-A2 5      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR             CBC-A2 0      Virtual HD ATA Device          Online                 40 GB MBR             CBC-A2 4      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR             CBC-A3 5      Microsoft Storage Space Device Online                  3 GB MBR             CBC-A3 0      Virtual HD ATA Device          Online                 40 GB MBR             CBC-A3

PS C:\> Get-ClusterNode -Cluster CBC-A | FT Cluster, NodeName, State, Id -AutoSize

Cluster NodeName State Id ------- -------- ----- -- CBC-A  CBC-A1     Up 2 CBC-A  CBC-A2     Up 1 CBC-A  CBC-A3     Up 3

PS C:\> Get-ClusterResource -Cluster CBC-A | FT –AutoSize

Name                             State  OwnerGroup    ResourceType ----                             -----  ----------    ------------ Cluster IP Address               Online Cluster Group IP Address Cluster Name                     Online Cluster Group Network Name Cluster Pool 1                   Online Cluster Group Storage Pool CBC-F                           Online CBC-F        Distributed Network Name Scale-Out File Server (\\CBC-F) Online CBC-F        Scale Out File Server WitnessDisk                      Online Cluster Group Physical Disk

PS C:\> Get-ClusterSharedVolume -Cluster CBC-A | FT -AutoSize

Name           State  Node ----           -----  ---- Cluster Disk 2 Online CBC-A3 Cluster Disk 3 Online CBC-A2 Cluster Disk 4 Online CBC-A3 Cluster Disk 5 Online CBC-A1 Cluster Disk 6 Online CBC-A2 Cluster Disk 7 Online CBC-A1

PS C:\> Get-SmbShare Share* -CimSession CBC-F | FT -AutoSize

Name   ScopeName Path                            Description PSComputerName ----   --------- ----                            ----------- -------------- Share1 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\Share             CBC-F Share2 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume2\SHARE             CBC-F Share3 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume3\Share             CBC-F Share4 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume4\Share             CBC-F Share5 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume5\SHARE             CBC-F Share6 CBC-F    C:\ClusterStorage\Volume6\Share             CBC-F