Windows Server 2012 also introduced native support for Storage Management
Initiative Specification (SMI-S). In Windows Server 2012 R2 and above, there is a
built-in SMI-S provider for the inbox iSCSI solution, making it manageable from SMI-
S–based management solutions without additional software required, which includes
SCVMM 2012 R2.
I want to close by mentioning how SCVMM 2012 R2 can integrate with storage
solutions to simplify management. The goal of SCVMM is to be the fabric
management solution and not just for managing virtual machines. Storage providers
can be loaded into SCVMM, which then displays the aggregates/volumes and the
contained LUNs. Each aggregate/volume can be assigned a custom classification such
as Gold, Silver, or Bronze. Figure 4.34 shows the Classifications And Pools view of the
storage fabric. As you can see, I have three classifications of storage defined, and I
have numerous storage subsystems loaded, including a Windows Server 2012 R2
iSCSI server and two NetApp SANs. Using a common classification enables SCVMM to
create and allocate LUNs automatically to hosts as required, based on a storage
classification in the virtual machine request.
Figure 4.34 A view of storage managed by SCVMM 2012 R2
SCVMM leverages industry standards to connect to the storage subsystems such as
CIM- and WMI-based versions of SMI-S and also Windows storage APIs to manage
Windows file servers, which can also be classified in SCVMM 2012 R2. I cover
SCVMM in more detail later in the book, but all of the storage features related to
VHDX, SMB, and virtual Fibre Channel can be managed through SCVMM 2012 R2. In
addition, SCVMM 2012 R2 can deploy complete file server clusters in addition to
Hyper-V hosts.