Implementing software raid

 

Exercise 1 - Configure Software RAID

Windows has a built-in capability to set up a software RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) that combines multiple disk drive components into a single logical unit for purpose of providing fault tolerance or enhance the performance of your storage subsystem. Based on the various formats used for storing data on the disk-groups, the RAIDs can be of many types, the common ones supported by Windows are RAID-5, RAID-1, and RAID-0.

Software RAID, unlike its hardware counterpart, is slower and entirely dependent on the operating system. Therefore, if Windows becomes inoperable, the only way that you can access your data hosted in a software-based RAID system is by restoring Windows and ensuring that RAID disks are all intact.

In this exercise, you will configure storage by implementing the RAID technique.

Refer to your course material or use your preferred search engine to research this topic in detail.

Task 1 - Creating RAID-5 Volume

A RAID-5 volume requires three disks with unallocated partitions of the same size. Data is written and read across the members of a striped volume and parity information is saved on the disks, which enhances data recoverability. In this task, you will create a RAID-5 volume S, consisting of disks 1, 3, and 4 on PLABDM01.

To create a RAID-5 volume, perform the following steps:  

Step 1

Ensure you have powered on the required devices, as mentioned in the introduction section.

Connect to PLABDM01. The Server Manager console is displayed.

On the menu bar at the top, click Tools and select Computer Management.

Figure 1.1 Screenshot of PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.1 Screenshot of PLABDM01 desktop: Tools > Computer Management menu-options are highlighted on the Server Manager console.

Step 2

The Computer Management console is displayed.

On the left navigation panel, expand the Storage node if required and select Disk Management.

The middle pane dislays the details of the disks available on PLABDM01.

Figure 1.2 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.2 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Computer Management console is displayed listing the disks available on the server.

Step 3

Ensure that the current status of the Disk 1, Disk 2, Disk 3, and 4 is Online.

Alert: If your disks show as offline, right-click the offline disks and select Online. This needs to be repeated for each offline disk.

Figure 1.3 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.3 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Computer Management console is displayed listing status of the disks available on the server.

Step 4

You can start creating the RAID-5 volume.

To create the RAID-5 volume, right-click the Unallocated section of Disk 1 and select New RAID 5 Volume…

Figure 1.4 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.4 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Context menu (that appears on right-clicking the unallocated portion of a disk) > New RAID-5 Volume menu-options are displayed on the Computer Management console.

Step 5

The New RAID-5 Volume wizard is displayed.

On the Welcome to the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Next.

Figure 1.5 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.5 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Welcome page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the Next button highlighted.

Step 6

On the Select Disks page, access the Available list box.

This list box displays the disks available to be include in the RAID-5 volume to create. On this list, select Disk 3 and click Add.

Figure 1.6 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.6 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the selected disk on the left pane and the Add button highlighted.

Step 7

Notice that Disk 3 now appears in the Selected list box.

Similarly, move Disk 4 to the Selected list box.

Notice the change in the amount of space available for selection as you add Disk 3 and Disk 4.

Figure 1.7 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.7 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the specified disks now listed on the Selected list on the right pane and the updated disk volume listed for the selected disk.

Step 8

Still on the Select Disks page, type the following storage capacity in the Select the amount of space in MB spin box:

5000  

Notice the change in sizes of Disk 1, Disk 3, and Disk 4; and the change in the Total volume size in megabytes (MB) information box display.

The value 5000 is for illustrative purposes only. In a RAID-5 volume, typically you will use a common disk size for each member of this volume. Do not max out the amount of space, as you will need to set aside unallocated disk space that will be required for the other volume types that you will create in a later task.

Click Next.

Figure 1.8 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.8 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the amount of space specified for the selected disks and the Next button highlighted.

Step 9

On the Assign Drive Letter or path page, set the Assign the following drive letter drop-down list to S.

Click Next.

Figure 1.9 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.9 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Assign Drive Letter or Path page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 10

On the Format Volume page, select the Perform a quick format check box.

Click Next.

Figure 1.10 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.10 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Format Volume page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 11

On the Completing the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Finish.

Figure 1.11 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.11 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Completion page on the New RAID-5 Volume Wizard is displayed listing specifications of the RAID-5 volume created and the Finish button highlighted.

Step 12

The Disk Management message box verifies that you want to convert the basic disks to dynamic disks.

This conversion is required to support the software-based RAID system.

Click Yes.

Figure 1.12 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.12 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Disk Management confirmation box is displayed prompting for confirmation to convert the basic disks to dynamic disks and the Yes button highlighted.

Step 13

Creating the RAID-5 volume will take a few minutes to finish, so please wait.

Notice the display of the resynching status on the RAID-5 disk members.

Figure 1.13 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.13 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Computer Management console is displayed showing the RAID-5 disk members re-synching.

Step 14

Now you have New Volume (S:) with a Healthy status.

This is the RAID-5 volume now available.

Figure 1.14 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.14 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: PLABDM01 Windows desktop is displayed listing on the top panel the newly created RAID drive.

Step 15

To view the volume you just created, click the File Explorer on the taskbar.

On the explorer window, notice that New Volume (S:) is now listed as an available storage drive. Select This PC in the left pane. After you verify drive S, close the explorer window.

You are navigated back to the Computer Management console.

Figure 1.15 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.15 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: File explorer window is displayed listing the newly created storage drive.

Leave the devices you have powered on in their current state and proceed to the next task.

Task 2 - Creating Mirrored Volume

A mirrored volume, sometimes referred to as RAID-1, requires two disks with identical unallocated size. The contents of the first disk is mirrored onto the second disk. Therefore, the second disk is a replica or duplicate of the first disk drive. This provides redundancy and increases the data availability. In this task, you will create a mirrored volume M based on disk 1 and disk 2 of PLABDM01.

To create a mirrored volume, perform the following steps:

Step 1

Open Computer Management on PLABDM01 if already not opened and navigate to Disk Management.

On PLABDM01, with the Computer Management console displayed, go to the Unallocated section of Disk 1, right-click it, and select New Mirrored Volume…

Figure 1.16 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.16 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Context menu (that appears on right-clicking the unallocated portion of a disk) > New Mirrored Volume menu-options are highlighted on the Computer Management console.

Step 2

The New Mirrored Volume wizard is displayed.

On the Welcome to the New Mirrored Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Next.

Figure 1.17 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.17 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Welcome page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed showing the Next button highlighted.

Step 3

On the Select Disks page, access the Available list box. This list box displays the disks available to be include in the RAID-1 volume to create. On this list, notice that Disk 1 is already selected and listed in the Selected list box.

Select Disk 3 and click Add.

Figure 1.18 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.18 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed showing the available disk on the left pane selected and the Add button highlighted.

Step 4

Still on Select Disks page, notice the change in the value of Disk 3, as its size is now exactly the same as Disk 1. This is in accordance with the requirements of a mirrored volume - two disks of the same size.

Still on the Select Disks page, type the following storage capacity in the Select the amount of space in MB spin box:

5000  

Notice the change in sizes of Disk 1 and Disk 3 and the change in the Total volume size in megabytes (MB) information box display. Accept the other settings on the page and click Next.

Figure 1.19 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.19 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed showing the specified disk now listed on the Selected list on the right pane and the updated disk volume listed for the selected disk.

Step 5

On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, set the Assign the following drive letter drop-down list box to M.

Click Next.

Figure 1.20 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.20 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Assign Drive Letter or Path page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 6

On the Format Volume page, select the Perform a quick format check box.

Click Next.

Figure 1.21 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.21 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Format Volume page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 7

On the Completing the New Mirrored Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Finish.

Figure 1.22 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.22 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Completion page on the New Mirrored Volume Wizard is displayed listing specifications of the mirrored volume created and the Finish button highlighted.

Step 8

Back on the Computer Management console, notice the New Volume (M:), the mirrored volume, is displayed with the Healthy status.

To verify the availability of the volume just created, click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar.

Figure 1.23 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.23 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Computer Management console is displayed listing on the upper panel the newly created mirrored volume.

Step 9

Open Windows Explorer from the task bar and select This PC from the left pane. Notice that the New Volume (M:) is now available for storage.

Minimize the explorer window.

You are redirected back to the Computer Management console.

Figure 1.24 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.24 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: File explorer window is displayed listing the newly created storage drive.

Leave the devices you have powered on in their current state and proceed to the next task.

Task 3 - Create Striped Volume

A striped volume requires at least two disks with the identical unallocated size. A striped volume is created to enhance the performance of disks as it provides an efficient disk read time because the disk heads are moving simultaneously giving a fast throughput. A striped volume does not provide data redundancy comparable to RAID-5 and Mirrored volumes.

Striped volumes are referred to RAID-0 volumes. In this task, you will create striped volume G based on disk 3 and disk 4 on PLABDM01.

To create a striped volume, perform the following steps:

Step 1

On the PLABMD01 desktop, the Computer Management console is displayed.

On Disk 3, right-click the Unallocated portion and select New Striped Volume…

Figure 1.25 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.25 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Context menu (that appears on right-clicking the unallocated portion of a disk) > New Striped Volume menu-options are displayed on the Computer Management console.

Step 2

The New Striped Volume wizard is displayed.

On the Welcome to the New Striped Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Next.

Figure 1.26 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.26 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Welcome page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed showing the Next button highlighted.

Step 3

On the Select Disks page, access the Available list box. This list box displays the disks available to be include in the RAID-0 volume to create. On this list, notice that Disk 3 is already selected and listed in the Selected list box.

Select Disk 4 and click Add.

Figure 1.27 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.27 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed showing the available disk on the left pane selected and the Add button available.

Step 4

Still on the Select Disks page, notice the change in size of Disk 4. Disk 4 now displays a size of 30829 MB.

Click Next.

Figure 1.28 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.28 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Select Disks page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed showing the specified disk now listed on the Selected list on the right pane and the updated disk volume listed for the selected disk.

Step 5

On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, set the Assign the following drive letter drop-down list box to G and click Next.

Figure 1.29 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.29 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Assign Drive Letter or Path page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 6

On the Format Volume page, select the Perform a quick format check box.

Click Next.


Figure 1.30 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Format Volume page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed showing the required settings performed and the Next button highlighted.

Step 7

On the Completing the New Striped Volume Wizard page, read the information and click Finish.

Figure 1.31 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.31 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Completion page on the New Striped Volume Wizard is displayed listing specifications of the striped volume created and the Finish button highlighted.

Step 8

Back on the Computer Management console, which now displays the creation and formatting of disks that comprise the striped volume.

After the process is complete, notice that the New Volume (G:), the striped volume displays a Healthy status.

Figure 1.32 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.32 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: Computer Management console is displayed listing on the tope panel the newly created striped volume.

Step 9

To verify the availability of the volume just created, click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar. On the explorer window, notice that the New Volume (G:) is now available for storage.

Close the file explorer window.

Figure 1.33 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop
Figure 1.33 Screenshot of the PLABDM01 desktop: File explorer window is displayed listing the newly created storage drive.

Shutdown all virtual machines used in this lab, before proceeding to the next module. Alternatively you can log out of the lab platform.

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