Windows Server® 2008File Services

Infrastructure Planning and Design

Published: June 2010Updated: November 2011

What Is IPD?Guidance that clarifies and streamlines the planning and design process for Microsoft® infrastructure technologies

IPD:• Defines decision flow

• Describes decisions to be made

• Relates decisions and options for the business

• Frames additional questions for business understanding

IPD guides are available at www.microsoft.com/ipd

Getting Started

Windows Server 2008File Services

Purpose and Overview

Purpose• To provide design guidance for a File Services

infrastructure

Overview• File Services architecture

• File Services infrastructure design process

What’s New in Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces new functionality and enhancements to Windows® file services that provide improved performance, increased reliability, and greater flexibility for users, including the following:• BranchCache®

• Support for Distributed File System (DFS) Replication in failover clusters

• Read-only DFS Replication replicas

• File Classification Infrastructure (FCI)

File Services Decision Flow

SCM ITAMAP

w/ CAL Tracker

Step 1: Determine the Scope of the File Services Project

• Task 1: Determine the Scope of the Project• Organizational units that will be participating in the redesign

• Geographic areas that will be included

Step 2: Determine the Files, Servers, and Clients That Will Be Included

• Task 1: Collect an Inventory of File Server Resources• Total storage used at location

• Encryption

• Replication

• DFS Namespace in use

• Shadow copies

• Fault tolerance in use

• Number of clients

• Client locations

• File types

• Other workloads

Step 3: Assess the Need for Replication or Caching

• Task 1: Determine Whether Replication Is Required• In replication, copies of each file are kept on multiple servers

• Task 2: Decide Whether to Use BranchCache• Caches copies of most recently used files on a local server or

workstations

Step 4: Design the BranchCache Infrastructure

• Task 1: Select BranchCache Mode• Hosted – uses a server running Windows Server 2008 R2

• Distributed – cache is stored across Windows 7 PCs in branch

• Task 2: Determine Placement of the Cache• If it is an existing server, complete Task 3 to allocate the disk

space to the cache. If it is a new server, use Step 6 to design the BranchCache file server

• Task 3: Determine Size of the Cache• 5% of hard drive allocated by default, but customizable

Step 5: Design the DFS Replication Infrastructure

• Task 1: Design Replication Groups• Design groups of servers that meet a common need for a

business group or that support the same type of resource

• Task 2: Design the Replication Topology• Replication topology defines how replication connections are

created between members of a replication group

• Task 3: Choose Folder Replication Option• DFS Replication offers flexibility in replicating folders among

servers

Step 6: Design the File Services Infrastructure

• Task 1: Determine File Server Placement• Place a sufficient number of servers to support expected client

demand

• Task 2: Determine How Many File Servers Will Be Needed• Start the design with a single server at each designated location

• Task 3: Determine Content Servers for BranchCache• Review each file share and determine whether it will have users

from BranchCache-enabled locations accessing the file share

Step 6: Design the File Services Infrastructure (Continued)

• Task 4: Design Server Hardware• Determine the most appropriate hardware on which to deploy

the file servers

• Task 5: Design Server Fault Tolerance• Evaluate each collection of files to determine whether fault

tolerance is required

Step 7: Determine Whether Namespace Services Will Be Required

• Task 1: Determine Whether DFS Namespace Will Be Implemented• DFS Namespace can be implemented independently of DFS

Replication

• Task 2: Determine the Number of Namespaces• DFS Namespace can be created to allow organizations to design

separate folders organized by region, business group, or administrative group

• Task 3: Determine the Namespace Modes• Stand-alone or domain-based namespace

Step 7: Determine Whether Namespace Services Will Be Required (Continued)

• Task 4: Design the DFS Namespace Roots• The DFS Namespace Root is the logical “root” or top folder of the

namespace tree

• Task 5: Design Folder Targets• DFS folder targets are the actual physical resources that are

connected to the DFS Namespace by DFS folders

Summary and Conclusion

• This guide has outlined the step-by-step process for planning a File Services infrastructure. In each step, major decisions relative to the File Services infrastructure were determined and described. The guide has explained how to define the goals and scope of the project, assess the current File Services infrastructure, and design a new File Services infrastructure, which can then be made available to the infrastructure planners.

• Provide feedback to ipdfdbk@microsoft.com

Find More Information

• Download the full document and other IPD guides:www.microsoft.com/ipd

• Contact the IPD team:ipdfdbk@microsoft.com

• Access the Microsoft Solution Accelerators website:www.microsoft.com/technet/SolutionAccelerators

Questions?

Addenda

• Benefits of Using the File Services guide

• IPD in Microsoft Operations Framework 4.0

• File Services in Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization

Benefits of Using the File Services Guide

• Benefits for Business Stakeholders/Decision Makers

• Most cost-effective design solution for implementation

• Alignment between the business and IT from the beginning of the design process to the end

• Benefits for Infrastructure Stakeholders/Decision Makers

• Authoritative guidance

• Business validation questions ensuring solution meets requirements of business and infrastructure stakeholders

• High integrity design criteria that includes product limitations

• Fault-tolerant infrastructure

• Proportionate system and network availability to meet business requirements

• Infrastructure that’s sized appropriately for business requirements

Benefits of Using the File Services Guide (Continued)

• Benefits for Consultants or Partners

• Rapid readiness for consulting engagements

• Planning and design template to standardize design and peer reviews

• A “leave-behind” for pre- and post-sales visits to customer sites

• General classroom instruction/preparation

• Benefits for the Entire Organization

• Using the guide should result in a design that will be sized, configured, and appropriately placed to deliver a solution for achieving stated business requirements

IPD in Microsoft Operations Framework 4.0

Use MOF with IPD guides to ensure that people and process considerations are addressed when changes to an organization’s IT services are being planned.

File Services in Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization