HP V6.0 Software manual Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system, Windows Disk Management

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system

The Windows Server 2003 OS includes Microsoft Virtual Disk Service (VDS) and Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). These services allow you to manage storage array disks and volumes and to perform data backup and restoration. The HP EVA Hardware Providers enable the VDS and VSS services to work with HP EVA disk arrays.

The Microsoft Virtual Disk Service provides interfaces for managing storage devices. Windows Server 2003 included VDS 1.0. Windows Server 2003 R2 introduced VDS 1.1. Microsoft VDS 1.1 includes new services for querying, configuring, and maintaining storage devices. The new services primarily support DSM and MPIO multipath (per LUN) path queries and load balancing. The current HP EVA VDS Hardware Provider supports both VDS 1.0 and VDS 1.1.

The Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service provides interfaces for performing backups and restores. Windows Server 2003 included Volume Shadow Copy Service. With Windows Server 2003 SP1 additional improvements were made to VSS. These changes added the ability to import shadow copies in a cluster, include many LUNs in a single copy set, and perform shadow copy revert. The current HP EVA VSS HWP supports this version of VSS.

Windows Disk Management

Windows Disk Management consists of the Windows software and user interfaces that enable you to manage disks, volumes, and file systems. The user interface for disk management is included in the Computer Management tool within the Administrative Tools Control Panel.

Management applications

HP StorageWorks Fast Recovery Solution (FRS) and other third party management applications work with the Microsoft VDS and VSS services to allow you to manage array disks and volumes and to perform data backup and restoration. For more information about FRS, see the HP website.

Microsoft command line interfaces

Microsoft offers several command line utilities for use with VDS, VSS, and the HWPs. DiskPart and DiskRaid provide interfaces that enable you to script disk management tasks so you can automate configuration of multiple storage disks.

The DiskPart utility, which comes standard with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, manages disks, volumes, and partitions. Using DiskPart, you can use the command line to manage the disk array.

The DiskRaid utility, which comes with the Windows 2003 Server Resource Kit, configures hardware RAID subsystems. It works with any storage hardware that includes a VDS hardware provider, including HP arrays using the HP VDS HWP. DiskRaid has a command syntax similar to DiskPart. Note that

if you display LUNs, DiskRaid shows LUNs in decimal rather than the hexadecimal numbering used in Command View.

Additionally, Microsoft makes a snapshot copy utility called Vshadow. You can use Vshadows with VSS and HWP to make and manage volume shadow copies and snapshots. See the Microsoft web site for more information.

Windows software providers

The Microsoft Software Providers (called Basic Disk Provider and Dynamic Disk Provider) interface between the Windows OS, Windows applications, and disks, drives, and disk arrays. Through these software providers and VDS, Windows sees the disks, drives, and disk array volumes and performs actions such as partitioning, mounting, and managing the file system.

Other Windows software providers (not shown) are the in-box providers, such as the Windows Backup utility and Windows Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider. These providers allow individual users to back up and recover user volumes and files.

HP StorageWorks EVA Hardware Providers administration guide 13