How to create a storage pool in Windows Server
Need to create a disk storage pool on your Windows Server system but unsure about how to do it? We can help! Follow along as we go over how to create a disk storage pool on Windows Server.
How to initialize physical disks
Before you can use your physical hard disks connected to Windows Server to create a shared storage pool between, them the disks must be initialized. To initialize the disks, open up the Windows Server partition tool.
Note: this guide assumes you’ve connected unformatted disks to Windows Server. If your disks are already formatted and initialized, please delete all volumes so they are “Unallocated” before following along.
To open up the tool, search for “Create and format hard disk partitions” in the Windows Start Menu. Then, launch the app. Once the partitioner app is open, locate your disks. As they are not initialized, they’ll be labeled “Offline.”
Select each “Offline” disk, and right-click on it. Then, select the “Online” option to bring the disk online. Repeat this until all of the disks you’re adding to your storage pool are online in the Windows Server partitioning tool.
When all disks are online, do not format anything. Physical disks do not need to be formatted at this stage of the process. Instead, close the Windows partitioning tool and move to the next step in the guide.
How to create the storage pool
A storage pool is a collection of all of the storage disks put together, to make one super disk. To create this pool, open up the Server Manager app. You can open up the Server Manager app by searching for “Server Manager” in the Windows Start Menu.
Once the Server Manager application is open, look to the left-hand sidebar and select “File and Storage Services”. This section houses all file and storage options for your Windows Server in the Server Manager.
After selecting the “File and Storage Services” options, look to the sidebar once again, and select “Storage Pools” on the sidebar. Upon selecting the “Storage Pools” option, you’ll be shown a window with three different boxes. These boxes are “Storage Pools,” “Virtual Disks,” and “Physical Disks”.
Right-click on “Storage Pools” and select “New Storage Pool” in the right-click menu. You’ll then see the “Before you begin” message. Read the message, then, click “Next.” Then, enter the name and description of your new storage pool. Click the “Next” button, when done to move to the next page.
Select all physical disks you wish to include in your Windows Server storage pool. Under “Allocation,” set it to “Automatic.” If you are an expert, feel free to swap from “Automatic” to another allocation type. Select “Next” after choosing physical disks.
Upon choosing your physical disks, Windows Server will show you an outline of what is to happen and ask for confirmation. Take a look at the summary. When you’ve finished looking at the summary, click the “Create” button to move to the next page.
How to make the virtual disk
Now that you have a storage pool, you need to create a virtual disk. In the “Files and Storage Services” area, click on the message under “Virtual Disks” that says “To create a virtual disk, start the New Virtual Disk Wizard”.
After selecting this message, you’ll be asked to select a storage pool to use for your new Windows virtual disk. Select the pool you created in the previous section of this guide.
When you’ve selected a storage pool, you’ll see a “Before you begin” message. Read it, then click the “Next” button to move to the next page. Then, enter the name and description of your virtual disk.
On the next page, Windows Server will ask if you need to enable “EnclosureAwareness.” If you do not know what “EnclosureAwareness” is, chances are you do not need it. Click the “Next” button to move to the next page.
You’ll now need to choose the storage layout. For the most storage space, select “Simple.” For some data security, choose “Mirror.” For total data security, choose “Parity”. After you’ve made your choice, select the “Next” option.
After choosing a disk layout, you’ll have to choose the provisioning type. Selecting “Thin” will allow the volume to expand as needed. Fixed uses all available storage space. Choose the one that meets your needs. Then, click “Next.”
Once the provisioning size is chosen, choose the size of the virtual disk. Select either “Specify size,” or “Maximum size.” When done, click the “Next” button.
With the size configured, you’ll see a summary of what Windows Server is about to do. Read the summary, then click the “Create” button.
How to make the storage volume
To create the storage volume of your new virtual disk, start by launching the Windows Disk Management tool. You can launch this by searching for “Create and format hard disk partitions” in the Start Menu.
Once the Disk Management tool is open, scroll down and find your new virtual disk. Then, right-click on the unallocated space, and select “New Simple Volume.” You can then use the “New Simple Volume Wizard” to create a new volume on your virtual disk.
