Configure a Clustered Storage Space

Q: How do I configure a clustered Storage Space?

A: The first step is to ensure you meet the requirements, which means checking that you have a storage enclosure that's certified for Storage Spaces that is connected to the multiple hosts.

In my lab, I have a Dell MD1200, which supports 12 drives and has 9 1TB HDD drives and 3 400GB SSD drives, which allows me to configure Storage Space tiering. In each of my two servers, I have a dual-port 6Gb SAS HBA, which I use to connect to the storage enclosure. Make sure a cluster has been created for the multiple nodes that are connected to the storage enclosure.

If you have redundant paths to the storage enclosure, ensure the MPIO feature is installed and has been executed to remove duplicate views of the same storage.

Download the Microsoft hotfix and apply to all nodes. It's a fix for manageability for storage enclosures, and it adds a Windows PowerShell Get-StorageEnclosure cmdlet.

Run the following PowerShell script on both servers, which should show the same storage visible. Below shows the output from one of my servers.

PS C:Usersadministrator> Get-PhysicalDisk | ? {$_.BusType –eq “SAS”} | ftFriendlyName   CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage       Size------------   ------- ----------------- ------------ -----       ----PhysicalDisk22 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk18 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 372.61 GBPhysicalDisk21 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk29 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk25 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk24 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk20 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk26 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 372.61 GBPhysicalDisk23 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk27 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 372.61 GBPhysicalDisk19 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GBPhysicalDisk28 True    OK        Healthy      Auto-Select 931.51 GB

With the 2913766 hotfix applied, run the Get-StorageEnclosure cmdlet to view the storage enclosure, as shown below. Note the output shows the firmware version of the enclosure and you should check if there is a firmware update for the storage enclosure and apply if needed. Also make sure the storage enclosure shows the disks as JBOD and don't configure disk sets within the enclosure as this would stop Storage Spaces being able to manage each disk.

PS C:> Get-StorageEnclosure | flObjectId : {1}\savdalhvclusroot/Microsoft/Windows/Storage/Providers_v2SPACES_StorageEnclosure.ObjectId="{XXXXX}:SE:{XXXXXX}"PassThroughClass : PassThroughIds : PassThroughNamespace : PassThroughServer : UniqueId : 500C04F2A2F13500CurrentSensorOperationalStatus : {OK, OK, OK, OK...}DeviceId : {XXXXX}FanOperationalStatus : {OK, OK, OK, OK}FirmwareVersion : 1.05FriendlyName : StorageEnclosure0HealthStatus : HealthyIOControllerOperationalStatus : {OK, OK}Manufacturer : DELL Model : MD1200 NumberOfSlots : 12PowerSupplyOperationalStatus : {OK, OK}SerialNumber : TemperatureSensorOperationalStatus : {OK, OK, OK, OK}VoltageSensorOperationalStatus : {OK, OK, OK, OK...}PSComputerName : 

Once everything is ready, create the Storage Space using Failover Cluster Manager instead of using Server Manager.

Microsoft has a good article, Deploy Clustered Storage Space, which also shows how to use PowerShell for the Storage Space management. This is the same PowerShell as for normal Storage Space options, as documented in my FAQ "PowerShell Storage Space Creation Tips."  Also check with your storage enclosure vendor as they often have great documents.

Once all this is done, you 'll have a clustered storage space that's available to the nodes in the cluster and made a CSV. I walk through the basics of this in my YouTube video as well.