Microsoft Storage: Fact and Fiction

Learn the truth about the capabilities of the storage features found in Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

Fiction: Check disk (CHKDSK) takes too long.
Fact: CHKDSK performance—the length of time the utility takes to check a disk and restore a volume to a consistent state—is dependent on the size of the volume (and the number of files on the volume): the larger the volume, the longer the disk check takes.

Impressive gains in performance have been made with each new release of the Windows Server operating system: in testing involving 3–17 million files per volume, the Windows Server 2003 CHKDSK utility is 20–38% faster than Windows 2000 (and 140% to 1200% faster than on NT4). To check 17 million non–fragmented files, for example, the NT4 test was cut short at 2880 minutes; Windows Server 2003 (beta version), by contrast, was complete in 210 minutes.

For an independent benchmark test, see the Veritest results.

Fiction: Verify disk (VRFYDSK) takes too long.
Fact: VRFYDSK is a command line tool used to check the consistency and integrity of the file system on a specified volume without taking the volume offline. The VRFYDSK tool, introduced in Windows Server 2003, uses the Volume Shadow Copy service to create a copy of the volume, then runs consistency check on the duplicate of the volume. The time it takes to run VRFYDSK is about the same as it would take to run CHKDSK. Only if the VRFYDSK status report reveals an error on the volume does it become necessary to run CHKDSK to repair the errors.

Fiction: The maximum NTFS size is too small compared to other file system formats.
Fact: Computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or the Windows Server operating systems all include the advanced NTFS. The table lists file server limits for Windows Server 2003.

The Windows Server 2003 SP1 release increases the maximum amount still further. For example, the maximum size of a basic volume (using GPT partitions) is 18EB; with NTFS it is 256TB. The maximum size of dynamic volume (using GPT partitions) is either 18EB or 32*18EB; with NTFS it is 256TB. For further details, refer to the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit.

Fiction: The iSCSI initiator can only run specific server hardware.
Fact: The iSCSI initiator can actually run on any server system hardware that runs the Windows platform—it is designed to be hardware independent. All iSCSI targets (such as HBAs, bridges, storage arrays or tape devices), must be logoed with the iSCSI initiator.

Fiction: LUNs cannot be extended in the Windows Server platform.
Fact: LUN extension is supported either through dynamic (extendable) disks or through the use of DISKPART on basic disks. Both methods are supported in all versions of the Windows Server platform. Dynamic disks are not supported with some applications including MSCS (Microsoft Cluster Server). For information on how to extend a basic NTFS volume for use with MSCS, see the KB article Dynamic Disk Configuration Unavailable for Server Cluster Disk Resources.

Fiction: The maximum file size supported on a Windows server attached to a SAN is too small.
Fact: As with all Windows platform products using NTFS, the maximum file size supported is just under 16 terabytes.

Fiction: Windows Storage Server cannot compete in data center storage environments.
Fact: NAS devices based on Windows Storage Server 2003 can scale to over 65 TB of data and support up to eight node clusters for high performance throughput. The CIFS performance of Windows Storage Server based devices has always been the best in the business, as measured by NetBench testing. A comparison of NFS and CIFS performance on Windows Powered NAS is given in the table below. For a recent performance data of Windows Storage Server 2003, see the Veritest results.

Fiction: SharePoint Services cannot be backed up on Windows.
Fact: SharePoint Services can be backed up on Windows; however, it cannot be done using Microsoft's native backup solution (NTBackup); instead a third party backup solution must be employed.

Fiction: Windows doesn't support clusters on iSCSI.
Fact: Windows Server 2003 easily supports 2 node clusters, and under the right set up conditions, Windows Server 2003 can support up to 8 node clusters on iSCSI technologies. However, this technology is not supported in Windows 2000 Server. For more information, refer to iSCSI Cluster FAQ.

Fiction: Remote boot scenarios on a SAN are not possible with Windows Server.
Fact: Remote boot scenarios are supported on Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server; however, they require storage hardware vendor integration. Details can be found in the support article, Support for booting from a storage area network (SAN). Remote boot on iSCSI SAN is also supported as long as the server uses an iSCSI hardware HBA.

Fiction: Running applications like SQL, Exchange, or SharePoint are not supported on a SAN.
Fact: In fact, running these applications is supported on a SAN, provided the Windows server hosting them is connected to a storage array which has a "Designed for Windows" logo. There are no specific tests for applications themselves; the support comes from tests on Windows Sever connected to a logoed storage array.

Fiction: Fast recovery scenarios using VSS are not possible with Exchange.
Fact: Actually, there a number of storage hardware and backup vendors have deployed such solutions using VSS shadow copies. Best practice guidelines can be found in KB article 822896: Exchange Server 2003 Data Backup and Volume Shadow Copy Services.

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