Using the File Services Role
Lesson 3
Objectives
• Install, Manage and Configure File Services Role
including Distributed File system, DFS Replication,
File Server Resource manager and Network File
System.
File Services Role
File Services Role
Distributed File System (DFS)
• Includes two technologies:
– DFS Namespaces
– DFS Replication
• Enable administrators to do the following:
– Simplify the process of locating files.
– Control the amount of traffic passing over WAN
links.
– Provide users at remote sites with local file server
access.
– Configure the network to survive a WAN link failure.
– Facilitate consistent backups.
DFS Namespace
• DFS is a virtual namespace technology that
enables you to create a single directory tree that
contains references to shared folders located on
various file servers, all over the network.
• This directory tree is virtual; it does not exist as a
true copy of the folders on different servers.
• It is instead a collection of references to the
original folders, which users can browse as though
it was an actual server share.
• The actual shared folders are referred to as the
targets of the virtual folders in the namespace.
DFS Namespace
DFS Namespace
• All versions of the Windows Server 2008 and
Windows Server 2003 operating systems
can function as DFS namespace servers.
– The Standard Edition and Web Edition
products can host only a single DFS
namespace.
– The Enterprise Edition and Datacenter
Edition versions can host multiple
namespaces.
DFS Namespace
• The DFS Namespaces role service supports:
– Stand-alone and domain-based.
– Domain-based namspaces come in two
modes: Windows Server 2008 mode and
Windows 2000 mode.
•Based on the domain functional level of the
domain hosting the namespace.
DFS Namespace
DFS Management Console
Creating DFS Namespace
Configuring DFS Role Service
DFS Replication
• DFS Replication is a multiple master
replication engine that can create and
maintain copies of shared folders on
different servers throughout an enterprise
network.
• Provides:
– Data distribution
– Load balancing
– Data collection
DFS Replication
• To enable replication for a DFS folder with multiple
targets, you must create a replication group, which
is a collection of servers, known as members, each
of which contains a target for a particular DFS
folder.
• In its simplest form, a folder with two targets
requires a replication group with two members: the
servers hosting the targets.
• At regular intervals, the DFS Replication engine on
the namespace server triggers replication events
between the two members, using the RDC protocol,
so that their target folders remain synchronized.
DFS Replication
• DFS Replication need not be so simple, however,
as it is also highly scalable and configurable.
• A replication group can have up to 256 members,
with 256 replicated folders, and each server can
be a member of up to 256 replication groups, with
as many as 256 connections (128 incoming and
128 outgoing).
• A member server can support up to one terabyte of
replicated files, with up to eight million replicated
files per volume.
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
DFS Replication
Configuring File Server Resource Manager Role
Service
Configuring File Server Resource Manager Role
Service
Configuring the Windows Search Service
Events Display File Services Role
System Services Display for File Services Role
Role Services Display
Resources and Support Display for File Services Role
Share and Storage Management Snap-In
Disk Quotas
• In Windows Server 2008, a disk quota is simply a
limit that is placed on the disk space a user is
permitted to consume in a particular volume or
folder.
• Quotas are based on the notion of file ownership.
Windows automatically makes a user the owner of
all files that he or she creates on a server volume.
• The quota system tracks all of the files owned by
each user and adds their sizes.
• When the total size of a given user’s files reaches
the quota specified by the server administrator, the
system takes action, also specified by the
administrator.
File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) Role
• Provides tools that enable file server
administrators to monitor and regulate their server
storage, by performing the following tasks:
– Establish quotas that limit the amount of storage
space allotted to each user.
– Create screens that prevent users from storing
specific types of files on server drives.
– Create templates that simplify the process of
applying quotas and screens.
– Automatically send e-mail messages to users and/or
administrators when quotas are exceeded or nearly
exceeded.
– Generate reports providing details of users’ storage
activities.
File Server Resource Manager Console
Hard and Soft Quota
• Using FSRM, the actions the system takes when a
user approaches or reaches a quota are highly
configurable.
– A hard quota prohibits users from consuming any
disk space beyond the allotted amount.
– A soft quota allows the user storage space beyond
the allotted amount and just sends an e-mail
notification to the user and/or administrator.
– Administrators can also specify the thresholds,
which dictate the percentage of available disk space
at which the system should send notifications, and
configure the quota server to generate event log
entries and reports in response to quota thresholds.
Quota Templates
• For enterprise networks, creating quota
templates is the recommended method for
managing quota assignments on a large
scale.
• A quota template is a collection of settings
that defines a number of configuration items
for disk quotas; because it is a template, this
collection of settings can be used to create
numerous quota assignments, all containing
consistent configuration settings.
Create Quota Template
Adding Thresholds
Adding Thresholds
Command Options
Report Options
Create Disk Quota
Generating Storage Reports
• Reporting is one of the keys to efficient
storage management.
• File Server Resource Manager is capable of
generating a variety of reports that enable
administrators to examine the state of their
file server volumes and identify
transgressors or company storage policies.
Storage Reports
Storage Reports
File Screen
• FSRM, in addition to creating storage
quotas, enables administrators to create file
screens, which prevent users from storing
specific types of files on a server drive.
File Screen
File Screen
Services for NFS
• File sharing, but in the UNIX world, the
standard is the Network File System (NFS).
• To support UNIX and Linux file server clients,
Windows Server 2008 supports the Network
File System (NFS).
Services for NFS
• UNIX operating systems have their own user
accounts, separate from those in Windows
and Active Directory.
• To prevent NFS clients running on UNIX
systems from having to perform a separate
logon when accessing NFS shares, the
Windows Server 2008 NFS Server
implementation can look up the user
information sent by the client and associate
the UNIX account with a particular Windows
account.
Services for NFS
• In UNIX, when a user successfully authenticates
with an account name and password, the operating
system assigns a user identifier (UID) value and a
group identifier (GID) value to the user.
• The NFS client includes the UID and GID in the file
access request messages it sends to the NFS
server.
• For the Windows Server 2008 NFS server to grant
the UNIX user access to the requested file, it must
associate the UID and GID with a Windows or
Active Directory account and use that account to
authenticate the client.
UNIX Attributes Tab of a User’s Object
Services for Network File System Console
Services for NFS Properties
NFS Sharing Tab
NFS Advanced Sharing Dialog Box
NFS Share Permissions
Summary
• The File Services role includes several role
services that you can choose to install,
including Distributed File System and
Services for Network File System.
• Selecting individual role services can add
extra configuration pages to the Add Roles
Wizard.
Summary
• The Distributed File System (DFS) includes
two technologies: DFS Namespaces and DFS
Replication that can simplify the process of
locating files, control the amount of traffic
passing over WAN links, provide users at
remote sites with local file server access,
configure the network to survive a WAN link
failure, and facilitate consistent backups.
Summary
• DFS is a virtual namespace technology that
enables you to create a single directory tree
containing references to shared folders
located on various file servers all over the
network.
Summary
• A namespace server functions just like a file
server except that when a user requests
access to a file in the DFS directory tree, the
namespace server replies — not with the file
itself, but with a referral specifying the file’s
actual location.
Summary
• DFS Replication works in tandem with DFS
Namespaces to provide unified services
such as data distribution, load balancing,
and data collection.
• To enable replication for a DFS folder with
multiple targets, you must create a
replication group, which is a collection of
servers that are also known as members.
Each contains a target for a particular DFS
folder.
Summary
• The File Server Resource Manager console
provides tools that enable file server
administrators to monitor and regulate their
server storage by establishing quotas that
limit the amount of storage space allotted to
each user, creating screens that prevent
users from storing specific types of files on
server drives, and generating reports
providing details of users’ storage activities.
Summary
• A quota is a limit on the disk space that a
user is permitted to consume in a particular
volume or folder.
• Quotas are based on file ownership.
• The quota system tracks all of the files
owned by each user and adds their sizes.
When the total size of a given user’s files
reaches the quota specified by the server
administrator, the system takes action.
Summary
• FSRM enables administrators to create file
screens that prevent users from storing
specific types of files on a server drive.
• Administrators typically use file screening to
keep undesirable files off of server drives.
Summary
• FSRM is capable of generating a variety of
reports that enable administrators to
examine the state of their file server
volumes and identify transgressors or
company storage policies.
• These reports include Duplicate Files, File
Screening Audit, Files By File Group, Files By
Owner, Large Files, Least Recently Accessed
Files, Most Recently Accessed Files, and
Quota Usage.
Summary
• NFS is a ―machine, operating system,
network architecture, and transport protocol
independent‖ service designed to ―[provide]
transparent remote access to shared file
systems across networks.‖
• Virtually all UNIX and Linux distributions
available today include both NFS client and
server support.
Summary
• To accommodate organizations that have
heterogeneous networks containing both
Windows and UNIX computers, Windows
Server 2008 includes the Services for
Network File System role service that
provides NFS Server and NFS Client
capabilities.
Summary
• An NFS server exports part of its file system
and the NFS client integrates the exported
information, a process called ―mounting,‖
into its own file system.
• The client can then access the server’s files
as if they were a local resource.