Quick check
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You need to create a 5-TB file share for archiving your company’s presentations and media files. Your file server is running Windows Server 2012, but you currently have only two data disks in your file server, with each disk having a capacity of 2 TB. You’ve ordered an external SATA (eSATA) card and a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) JBOD with four 2-TB disks, but the shipment is on backorder and is not expected to arrive for several weeks. Is there anything you can do in the meantime that allows you to begin archiving your content?
Quick check answer
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Yes! If you implemented Storage Spaces, you can use thin provisioning to create a virtual disk 5 TB in size even though you currently have only 4 TB of available physical storage for your file server. You can then create a 5-TB volume on this virtual disk and start archiving content to the volume. Then when the extra storage hardware you ordered arrives, you can add the new storage to the storage pool on your server and finish archiving the rest of your content.
The above tip was excerpted from Mitch Tulloch’s book Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 from Microsoft Press.
Mitch is a ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award and a widely recognized expert on Windows Server and cloud computing technologies. For more information see http://www.mtit.com.
