Introduction
Windows Server 2022 includes a new feature called Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency. This feature is designed to help protect virtual machines from storage outages. When storage outages occur, Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency automatically detects the outage and attempts to recover the virtual machine by using a different storage path.
How Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency Works
Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency works by creating a copy of the virtual machine’s disk files on a separate storage path. When an outage is detected, the virtual machine is automatically switched to the secondary storage path. If the outage is resolved, the virtual machine is automatically switched back to the primary storage path.
Configuring Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency
Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency can be configured by using the Virtual Machine Manager console or by using PowerShell.
Configuring Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency by Using the Virtual Machine Manager Console
To configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency by using the Virtual Machine Manager console, follow these steps:
- In the Virtual Machine Manager console, click Fabric.
- In the Fabric pane, expand Servers, and then click All Servers.
- In the All Servers pane, select the server on which you want to configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency.
- In the Actions pane, click Configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency.
- In the Configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency dialog box, select the check boxes for the virtual machines that you want to protect, and then click OK.
Configuring Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency by Using PowerShell
To configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency by using PowerShell, follow these steps:
- Open a PowerShell session, and then run the following cmdlet:
Enable-VMStorageResiliency -VMName <VMName> - To verify that Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency has been enabled for a virtual machine, run the following cmdlet:
Get-VMStorageResiliency <VMName>
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned how to configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency in Windows Server 2022.
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016 introduced a new storage resiliency feature called Storage Replica (SR). Storage Replica is a block-level replication technology that can replicate disks or volumes synchronously or asynchronously across servers or clusters for disaster recovery, site-to-site migrations, or stretch deployments.
In Windows Server 2020, Storage Replica has been enhanced with a number of new features:
· Multi-Site Resiliency – Storage Replica can now replicate data across up to 16 sites with each site containing up to 8 nodes. This enables you to create a stretched cluster that spans multiple datacenters.
· Azure Site Recovery – You can now use Storage Replica to replicate data to Azure. This enables you to use Azure Site Recovery to protect on-premises workloads in the event of a disaster.
· Cluster-to-Cluster Replication – You can now use Storage Replica to replicate data between two failover clusters. This enables you to create a stretched cluster that spans multiple datacenters.
To configure Storage Replica, you will need to use the new Storage Replica cmdlets in PowerShell. In this article, we will look at how to configure Storage Replica in Windows Server 2020.
Configuring Storage Replica
Before you can configure Storage Replica, you will need to meet the following requirements:
· All servers must be running Windows Server 2020.
· All servers must be joined to a domain.
· The servers must have storage that is compatible with Storage Replica.
· The servers must have networking that is compatible with Storage Replica.
Once you have met the requirements, you can begin configuring Storage Replica.
1. On each server, open PowerShell and run the following cmdlet to install the Storage Replica feature:
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Storage-Replica
2. On each server, open the Server Manager console and go to the Failover Clustering manager.
3. In the Failover Clustering manager, click on thevalidate configuration button. This will launch the Validate a Configuration wizard.
4. On the Before You Begin page, click Next.
5. On the Select Servers page, select the servers that you want to validate and click Next.
6. On the Select Tests page, select the tests that you want to run and click Next.
7. On the Summary page, review the settings and click Next.
8. On the Confirmation page, click Next.
9. On the Results page, review the results of the tests and click Finish.
10. If the tests pass, you can now create a storage replica. To do this, click on the create replica button. This will launch the Create Replica wizard.
11. On the Before You Begin page, click Next.
12. On the Replication Mode page, select the replication mode that you want to use and click Next.
13. On the Source Server page, select the source server and click Next.
14. On the Source Volume page, select the source volume and click Next.
15. On the Destination Server page, select the destination server and click Next.
16. On the Destination Volume page, select the destination volume and click Next.
17. On the Replication Frequency page, select the replication frequency and click Next.
18. On the Initial Replication page, select the initial replication method and click Next.
19. On the Consistency Check page, select the consistency check schedule and click Next.
20. On the Summary page, review the settings and click Next.
21. On the Confirmation page, click Next.
22. On the Results page, review the results of the replica creation and click Finish.
Your storage replica is now configured and you can begin replicating data.
How to Configure Virtual Machine Storage Resiliency in Windows Server 2022
Introduction
Windows Server 2022 includes a new feature called Storage Replica that enables storage resiliency for virtual machines. Storage Replica can replicate data synchronously or asynchronously between two servers or clusters. This enables you to create a storage replica set that contains multiple servers or clusters. You can use Storage Replica to replicate data to another site for disaster recovery, or to create a stretched cluster for high availability.
Prerequisites
To configure storage resiliency for virtual machines, you must meet the following prerequisites:
- Windows Server 2022 Datacenter edition must be installed on all servers that will participate in the storage replica set.
- The storage on all servers must be configured as a storage pool. For more information, see Storage Spaces Direct.
- If you intend to create a stretched cluster, you must have at least two servers. If you intend to create a replica set for disaster recovery, you can have one or more servers.
- All servers must be connected to a shared storage network. This can be either a Fibre Channel or Ethernet network.
- If you are using Fibre Channel, you must have at least one HBAs or one Storage Replica capable network adapter installed on each server.
- If you are using Ethernet, you must have at least one network adapter installed on each server that supports RDMA. For more information, see Network requirements.
Configuring storage resiliency for virtual machines
To configure storage resiliency for virtual machines, you must first create a storage replica set. A storage replica set contains one or more servers that participate in replicating storage. To create a storage replica set, use the New-StorageReplicaSet cmdlet. This cmdlet requires the following parameters:
-StoragePoolFriendlyName: The friendly name of the storage pool that contains the storage to be replicated.-StorageReplicaSetName: The name of the storage replica set.-StorageReplicaSetFriendlyName: The friendly name of the storage replica set.
For example, to create a storage replica set named “SR1” in the storage pool “S1”, you would use the following command:
New-StorageReplicaSet `
-StoragePoolFriendlyName "S1" `
-StorageReplicaSetName "SR1" `
-StorageReplicaSetFriendlyName "SR1"
Once the storage replica set has been created, you can add servers to it. To add a server to a storage replica set, use the Add-StorageReplicaServer cmdlet. This cmdlet requires the following parameters:
-StorageReplicaSetName: The name of the storage replica set.-ServerName: The name of the server to add to the storage replica set.
For example, to add the server “Server1” to the storage replica set “SR1”, you would use the following command:
Add-StorageReplicaServer `
-StorageReplicaSetName "SR1" `
-ServerName "Server1"
Once the servers have been added to the storage replica set, you can configure the replication. Replication can be configured to be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous replication provides the highest level of data protection, but requires that the servers be located close to each other to minimize replication latency. Asynchronous replication does not have this requirement, but does not provide the same level of data protection. To configure replication, use the Set-StorageReplicaConfiguration cmdlet. This cmdlet requires the following parameters:
-StorageReplicaSetName: The name of the storage replica set.-Mode: The replication mode. Valid values are “Synchronous” and “Asynchronous”.
For example, to configure the storage replica set “SR1” for asynchronous replication, you would use the following command:
Set-StorageReplicaConfiguration `
-StorageReplicaSetName "SR1" `
-Mode "Asynchronous"
Once replication has been configured, you can add storage to the storage replica set. This is done by creating a storage replica volume. A storage replica volume is a volume that is replicated by the storage replica set. To create a storage replica volume, use the New-StorageReplicaVolume cmdlet. This cmdlet requires the following parameters:
-StorageReplicaSetName: The name of the storage replica set.-VolumeName: The name of the storage replica volume.-Size: The size of the storage replica volume.-StoragePoolFriendlyName: The friendly name of the storage pool that contains the storage for the volume.
For example, to create a storage replica volume named “Volume1” in the storage pool “S1”, you would use the following command:
New-StorageReplicaVolume `
-StorageReplicaSetName "SR1" `
-VolumeName "Volume1" `
-Size 1TB `
-StoragePoolFriendlyName "S1"
Once the storage replica volume has been created, you can mount it on a server. To mount a storage replica volume, use the Mount-StorageReplicaVolume cmdlet. This cmdlet requires the following parameters:
-StorageReplicaVolumeName: The name of the storage replica volume.-ServerName: The name of the server on which to mount the volume.-DriveLetter: The drive letter to assign to the volume.
For example, to mount the storage replica volume “Volume1” on the server “Server1” with the drive letter “V”, you would use the following command:
Mount-StorageReplicaVolume `
-StorageReplicaVolumeName "Volume1" `
-ServerName "Server1" `
-DriveLetter "V"
You can now use the volume just like any other volume on the server. The data on the volume will be replicated to the other servers in the storage replica set.
Conclusion
Storage Replica is a new feature in Windows Server 2022 that enables storage resiliency for virtual machines. Storage Replica can replicate data synchronously or asynchronously between two servers or clusters. This enables you to create a storage replica set that contains multiple servers or clusters. You can use Storage Replica to replicate data to another site for disaster recovery, or to create a stretched cluster for high availability.
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