1st Edition

Server Disk Management in a Windows Environment

By Drew Robb Copyright 2004
    274 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Auerbach Publications

    Hard drives and disk management receive scant attention from the industry press, yet recent surveys have identified disk failure as the #1 source of server downtime. Combine this fact with the skyrocketing TCO of data storage management, and it is apparent that server disk management is a subject deserving of much more scrutiny.

    Server Disk Management in a Windows Environment explains the basic elements of disks and disk architectures, and explores how to successfully manage and maintain functionality within a Windows environment. The author focuses on critical issues that are often ignored by other books on this subject, issues including disk quotas, fragmentation, optimization, hard drive reliability, asset management, software deployment, and system forensics.

    This book is a valuable resource for IT veterans and those who are less tech-savvy. Students and IT newcomers can access multiple definitions and examples of fundamentals such as disk organization, file systems, and basic maintenance actions. Chapters examining hardware and software management and industry trends provide further insight into how you can maintain and monitor disks, and have them perform at maximum efficiency.

    Hard Disks and How They Are Organized
    Hardware Components of the Hard Drive

    SCSI versus ATA
    ATA Drives
    Small Computer Systems Interface Drives
    What's on a Disk
    Disk Performance Definitions and Metrics
    Disk Formatting
    Grouping Disks: Stripe Sets and RAID
    Evaluating Disks
    Mean Time Between Failures

    Windows File Systems
    Enterprise Windows
    Magnetic Disk Systems
    FAT
    NTFS
    Additional NTFS Features
    FAT versus NTFS
    Converting FAT to NTFS
    Optical Disk Formats
    Partitioning Strategies
    Summary

    Hard Drive Reliability
    MTBF Explained
    Adding Up the Cost of Disk Failure
    Don't Rely on Backup
    Don't Rely on RAID
    Predicting Failure
    Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology
    How Often Do Disks Fail?
    Not So SMART
    Products using SMART
    Compaq Insight Manager
    OEM Disk Monitoring Tools
    SpinRite
    Hot Swapability
    Disks Will Fail

    Disk Management Basics for Windows 2000
    The Importance of Disk Management
    Basic Tasks
    Disk Management Console
    Converting a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk
    Basic/Dynamic Disks and Windows XP
    Be Dynamic, Choose Dynamic

    Backing Up Windows Networks
    No More Simple Backups
    Windows Backup: What it Includes
    Using the Built-In Windows Backup Utility
    Emergency Repair Disk and Restore Functions
    Additional XP Backup Features
    Beyond Basic Backups
    Backup Cautions
    Backing up Mixed Windows/Linux Networks
    Storage Portal Case Study

    Disaster Recovery and Disk Management
    Is Your Data Really Protected?
    A Blended Approach to Data Protection
    Contingency Plan
    Make DRP Comprehensive
    The Economics of Disaster
    Recognition of Mission Critical Elements
    Drilling
    Data Organization
    Test and Refine Some More

    Disk Performance and Fragmentation
    History and Origins of Fragmentation
    Does NTFS Suffer from Fragmentation?
    How Much Fragmentation Occurs in NTFS
    Defining Fragmentation
    Free Space Fragmentation
    Fragmentation Adversely Affects Systems Stability
    Remedying Fragmentation
    How Defragmenters Work
    Defragmentation Safety Issues
    Defragmentation Performance Testing
    Windows 2000 Tests
    Running the Windows 2000 Disk Defragmenter
    WDD Cautions
    Better Free Defragmenter
    Defragmenting a System
    Hardware Upgrades versus Defragmentation
    TCO of Manual versus Network Defragmenters
    Uptime Guarantee

    Disk Optimization: Optimum or Not?
    Hard Drives Are Slow
    Enter Optimization
    Optimization Pros and Cons
    Optimization Shortcomings
    Proven Disk Performance Solutions
    Conclusions

    Quotaing of Disks
    What is a Disk Quota?
    Quota Terminology
    Disk Quota Management
    Strengths of the Windows 2000 Built In Quota Utility
    Limitations
    Third Party Alternatives
    Case Study
    Conclusion: Upgrade to a Third Party Disk Quota Tool

    Hard Disk Forensics: The Hard Disk as a Source of Evidence
    The Rise of Computer Crime
    Melissa
    I Love You
    Definitions of Computer Crime and Computer Forensics
    Uses of Computer Forensics
    Recovering Evidence
    Printed versus Electronic Versions
    Microsoft Word Confessions
    Preserving Confidentiality in Microsoft Word
    Finding Missing Files
    Shredder Programs
    Forensic Software

    Simplifying Disk Management for Storage Assets
    Snapshot Technology
    Copy-on-Write
    Split Mirror
    Backing up SQL Server
    Breakthrough in Backup and Recovery Performance
    Microsoft System Restore
    Shadow Sets
    Advantages of VSS
    Storage Virtualization
    Storage and RAID
    Server Attached Storage
    Storage Area Networks
    SAN Appliances
    What is True Storage Virtualization?
    Virtualization Scenarios
    Virtualization and Windows-Based Servers

    Server Consolidation and Disk Management Simplification
    Harsh Economic Realities
    Assessing the Reliability, Availability, and Manageability of the Data Center
    Data Center Cost Analysis
    Leveraging New Technologies to Streamline Data Center Operations
    Scaling Out
    Scaling Up
    Server Price and Performance
    Wintel Servers Challenge Domination of Big Three
    Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
    Midrange Hardware for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
    Fewer Servers
    Server Consolidation at La-Z-Boy
    Limits to Consolidation
    When Consolidation Makes Sense

    Windows Past, Windows Present: Windows NT and Windows 2000
    Windows NT
    Windows NT in Action
    NT's Days Are Numbered
    The Windows 2000 Server Family
    Windows 2000 Server
    Certified for Windows 2000 Log

  • Windows 2000 Advanced Server
    Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
    Datacenter Server User Study
    The Rigors of Windows 2000 Migration
    The Three Active Directory States: Native Mode, Mixed Mode, and Parallel Mode
    Windows 2000 Migrations Tools
    Making the Transition to Native Mode
    Consolidating Directories
    Windows 2000 Migration Case Studies
    No Universal AD Panacea

    Windows Present: Windows XP
    No More DOS
    XP Fastboot
    Prefetching
    Layout Optimization
    Boot Optimization versus File Optimization
    XP Fast Resume
    Tips to Improve the Impact of Fastboot and Fast Resume
    Underlying XP Architecture
    Beware XP's Consumer Features
    The XP Windows Media Player
    The XP CD Burner
    The XP Defragger
    XP's Security Features
    XP's Task Manager
    XP's Performance Tool
    XP Quotas
    XP Backup
    Backward Compatibility of XP
    Extending Hardware Lifespan
    Improved XP Management
    Only Room For So Much

    Windows Present/Future: .NET Server 2003, 64-bit Computing and Beyond
    Microsoft .NET
    What is .NET?
    .NET and Web Services
    The .NET Starting Roster
    .NET Case Study: Making the Case for Information Sharing
    Nothing But .NET: What are the Alternatives to .NET?
    .NET Slam Dunk
    .NET Server 2003
    The Members of .NET Server 2003 Family
    64-bit Windows
    64-bit at a Glance
    Who needs 64 bit?
    The Next Few Years of Windows: Longhorn, Blackcomb and XP Second Edition

    Asset Management for Server Hardware and Software
    The Asset Management Explosion
    Hot Spots
    Piracy and Asset Management
    Asset Management Strata
    System/Desktop Management Platforms
    Microsoft Systems Management Server
    Simplifying Asset Management

    Software Deployment and Distribution on Windows Platforms
    Deployment Complexity
    Security Breaches
    Securing the Walls
    XP Patches
    Frameworks and Software Deployment
    Microsoft Tools and Software Deployment
    Site Licensing/Tracking Software
    Software Deployment Case Study
    Do You Feel Lucky?

    Your Disk and Disk Management Future
    The Storage Industry is Healthy
    Faster Data Transfer
    Bigger and Better Drives
    Fujitsu Drives
    What the Future Holds
    Conclusion

    Glossary of Terms
    Bibliography
  • Biography

    Drew Robb