Maintaining File Services

Shadow Copies of Shared Folders Automatically retains copies of files on a server from specific points in time Prevents administrators from having to load backup media to restore individual files for users. Allows users to perform self-service restore of files that were accidentally deleted or modified Enabled at a volume level – all shares on a drive Clients must have XP SP2 or later OS’s Snapshots created twice per day – 7:00am & 12:00pm Uses 10% of your storage space- 300MB min and 3GB max

Configuring Disk Quotas Disk quota – simply a limit you place on the amount disk space a user has on a system. Two types of quotas: Hard quota – prohibits beyond the allotted amount Soft quota – slap on the wrist, sends an notification that they above the limit, but will still let them go higher. Creating a Disk Quota Right click on volume and select quota tab – good Create a Disk Quota Template – better Done by adding the File Server Resource Manager Role

Generating Storage Reports New feature of Server 2008 Reports that you can create are: Duplicate files – files that are the same size and have same last modified date File Screening Audit – files that violate a screening Files by Owner – files sorted by selected users Large Files – files that are larger than a specified size Least Recently Accessed Files – files that have not been accessed in a long time Most Recently Accessed Files – files that have been recently accessed Quota Usage – list of quotas that have been exceeded.

Backing Up Windows Server 2008 Extremely Important task of an administrator Typically companies use a 3 rd party backup software, but Server 08 does come with a simple backup app. The backup app is a feature that must be installed Server 08 backup is a very limited backup option Full backups only No network backups With server 2008 backup you can backup Once or create a schedule so that backups run automatically a specific times. Consider implementing a better backup solution with storage and software to better backup your system

Backup Types - Normal Backs up all files Clears the archive bit Can require large data storage capacity Only need 1 tape when restoring The last good normal backup Use Normal when backup time is not critical but Restore time is extremely important.

Backup Types - Incremental Backs up only files that have been modified or created since the last full or incremental backup Clears the archive bit Can require considerably less storage space than a normal backup When restoring you need the last Normal and all incremental tapes up to the day it failed. Use when backup window is short and when restore time is not that critical.

Backup Types - Differential Backs up only files that have been modified or created since the last full or incremental backup Clears the archive bit Can require considerably less storage space than a normal backup When restoring you need the last Normal and the last differential. 2 tapes only Use as a compromise between Normal and Incremental backups.

Lesson 11 You Learned Shadow Copies of Shared Folders is based on the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and allows users to access previous versions of files in the event that they are accidentally deleted or overwritten. Shadow Copies of Shared Folders is enabled at a volume level and affects all shared folders on a particular volume.

Lesson 11 You Learned (cont.) The Restore Previous Versions functionality allows users to access and restore their own Shared Copies of Shared Folders snapshots without requiring administrative intervention. A disk quota is a limit on the disk space a user is permitted to consume in a particular volume or folder.

Lesson 11 You Learned (cont.) Disk Quotas are based on file ownership. The quota system tracks all of the files owned by each user and adds their sizes. When the total size of a given user’s files reaches the quota specified by the server administrator, the system takes action. Windows Server 2008 introduces the Windows Server Backup feature, which uses VSS to back up servers at the volume level.