#Create two tiers in the Storage Pool created.
#One for SSD disks and one for HDD disks
$ssd_Tier = New-StorageTier -StoragePoolFriendlyName "My Storage Pool" -FriendlyName SSD_Tier -MediaType SSD $hdd_Tier = New-StorageTier -StoragePoolFriendlyName "My Storage Pool"
-FriendlyName HDD_Tier -MediaType HDD
#Create a new virtual disk in the pool with a name of TieredSpace
#using the SSD (50GB) and HDD (300GB) tiers
$vd1 = New-VirtualDisk -StoragePoolFriendlyName "My Storage Pool" -FriendlyName TieredSpace -StorageTiers @($ssd_tier, $hdd_tier)
-StorageTierSizes @(50GB, 300GB) -ResiliencySettingName Mirror `
-WriteCacheSize 1GB
#cannot also specify -size if using tiers and also
#cannot use provisioning type, e.g. Thin
Normally, the hot blocks are detected over time and moved into the SSD tier as part of
a nightly optimization job at 1:00 a.m. However, certain files can be pinned to the SSD
tier, which will keep them there permanently. To pin a file to the SSD tier and then
force a tier optimization, use the following commands:
Set-FileStorageTier -FilePath M:\Important\test.vhd `
-DesiredStorageTier ($vd1 | Get-StorageTier -MediaType SSD)
Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter M -TierOptimize
With Storage Spaces technology, you can create flexible and high-performing storage
solutions using direct-attached disks, which can be useful in various scenarios and
architectures. I walk through Storage Spaces in a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KlY-
aP9oE&feature=share&list=UUpIn7ox7j7bH_OFj7tYouOQ
The use of tiering is a great feature for virtualization and will help you get the highest
overall performance without having to use high-end storage for the entire storage
solution.
Windows Server 2016 Storage Space Changes
Windows Server 2016 continues the evolution of Storage Spaces and utilizes the
technology to enable a completely new way to use direct-attached storage: as cluster
storage in the form of Cluster Shared Volumes. Windows Server 2016 also
differentiates between SSDs (as comparatively lower cost flash storage) and NVMe
SSDs (as higher performing but higher cost). Storage Spaces utilizes the different
types of flash storage automatically, in the most optimal manner, without any manual
configuration of the tiers. For example, when creating a regular storage space through
Server Manager in Windows Server 2016, an HDD and SSD tier are automatically
created as a standard tier and faster tier, respectively. When using Storage Spaces
Direct, there is even more granularity (as I cover in more detail in the following
“Storage Spaces Direct” section). Additionally, in Windows Server 2016, the additional
resiliency options are now part of the wizard in Server Manager, as shown in Figure