Книга: Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage, Security, & Networking Pocket Consultant

Troubleshooting storage spaces

Troubleshooting storage spaces

Typical problems creating storage spaces and allocating storage were discussed previously. You also might find that a physical disk that should be available for use isn’t available. With the Storage Pools node selected in Server Manager, you can add a physical disk that has been detected but isn’t listed as available by selecting Tasks on the Physical Disks panel, and then selecting Add Physical Disk. Next, in the Add Physical Disk dialog box, select the physical disk, and then click OK. Alternatively, if the physical disk has not been detected by the storage system, select Tasks on the Storage Pools panel, and then select Rescan Storage.

Other problems you might experience with storage spaces relate to drive failures and a loss of resiliency. When a storage space uses two-way mirroring, three-way mirroring, parity, or dual parity, you can recover resiliency by reconnecting a disconnected drive or replacing a failed drive. When a storage space uses a simple volume and drives were disconnected, you can recover the volume by reconnecting the drives.

Selecting the notification icon for Action Center displays the related notifications. If there is a problem with storage spaces, Action Center updates the related notification panel in the desktop notification area with a message stating “Check Storage Spaces for issues.” To open Server Manager, select the notification icon, and then select the link provided. In Server Manager, you’ll need to select the File And Storage Services node, and then select Storage Pools to get the relevant error and warning icons.

To view errors and warnings for storage pools, press and hold or right-click the storage pool with the error or warning icon, and then select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, select Health in the left pane to display the health status and operational status in the main pane. For example, you might find that the health status is listed as Warning and the operation status is listed as Degraded. Degraded is a status you’ll get when there is a loss of redundancy.

To view errors and warnings for virtual disks and their associated physical disks, press and hold or right-click the virtual disk with the error or warning icon, and then select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, select Health in the left pane to display the health status and operational status in the main pane. Note the storage layout and the physical disks in use as well. If there is a problem with a physical disk, such as a loss of communication, this status will be displayed. You’ll get a Loss of Communication status when a physical disk is missing, failed, or disconnected.

When storage spaces use external drives, a missing drive might be a common problem you encounter. In this case, users can continue to work, and redundancy will be restored when you reconnect the drive. However, if a drive failed, you’d need to complete the following steps to restore redundancy:

1. Physically remove the failed drive. If the drive is connected internally, you’ll need to shut down and unplug the computer before you can remove the drive; otherwise, simply disconnect an externally connected drive.

2. Physically add or connect a replacement drive. Next, add the drive to the storage space by doing the following:

a. On the Storage Spaces panel, press and hold or right-click the storage space you want to configure, and then select Add Physical Drive.

b. In the Add Physical Disk dialog box, select the drive that should be allocated to the storage pool.

c. When you click OK, Windows Server will prepare the drive and allocate it to the storage pool.

3. At this point, the failed drive should be listed as “Retired.” Remove the failed drive from the storage space by selecting the related Remove Disk option, and then confirm that you want to remove the drive by selecting Yes when prompted.

Windows Server restores redundancy by copying data as necessary to the new disk. During this process, the status of the storage space ordinarily is listed as “Repairing.” A value depicting how much of the repair task is completed is also shown. When this value reaches 100 percent, the repair is complete.

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