Share a folder in Windows Server 2012

Open Server Manager and navigate to File and Storage Services. Once there, go to Shares and, from the Tasks menu, choose the New Share option (Figure A).

Figure A

Starting the share creation process

The first question you're asked is one regarding the protocol you'd like to use for the new share. You can choose between SMB and, if the service is installed, NFS. For both, there are multiple profiles from which you can choose. In the table below, you can see a list of the profiles, along with a short description of each.

Profile	Description
SMB Share - Quick	This basic profile represents the fastest way to create an SMB file share, typically used to share files with Windows-based computers. Suitable for general file sharing Advanced options can be configured later by using the Properties dialog
SMB Share - Advanced	This advanced profile offers additional options to configure a SMB file share. Set the folder owners for access-denied assistance Configure default classification of data in the folder for management and access policies Enable quotas
SMB Share - Applications	This profile creates an SMB file share with settings appropriate for Hyper-V, certain databases, and other server applications.
NFS Share - Quick	This basic profile represents the fastest way to create a NFS file share, typically used to share files with UNIX-based computers. Suitable for general file sharing Advanced options can be configured later by using the Properties dialog
NFS Share - Advanced	This advanced profile offers additional options to configure a NFS file share. Set the folder owners for access-denied assistance Configure default classification of data in the folder for management and access policies Enable quotas

Note that I've chosen to create a standard SMB share with the Advanced option so you can see more options later on.

Figure B

Choose a profile for the share

Next, provide the path to the folder that you'd like to share. You can also choose to share a whole drive, as you can see in Figure C. I'm sharing a folder named C:\MySharedFolder.

Figure C

Provide a path for the shared folder

Next, provide the name of the share and a description of the share. The share name does not have to match the folder name. I've named my shareTechRepublic. Note in Figure D that you are also shown the full share name/network path.

Figure D

Give the new share a name and description

There are a number of additional settings that you can enable for the share. Access-based enumeration used to be an add on for Windows. It allows users to see just the files and folders to which they have been granted access and not even be able to see that other items exist. You can also choose to allow the shared folder to be cached on other systems using BranchCache. Finally, you're able to encrypt remote access to the newly shared resource.

Figure E

Choose advanced sharing settings

If you've used NTFS permissions in the past, the next step is familiar. Provide the permissions that should be in force for this resource.

Figure F

Set permissions for the shared folder

Windows Server 2012 has new content management capabilities that can span the organization. The step of the wizard shown in Figure G is a part of this new classification system.

Figure G

Identify the purpose of this folder

Windows Server 2012 comes with a number of predefined quotas. If you want to apply a quota to this share, choose the quota type.

Figure H

Apply a predefined quota

Review your selections and click the Create button when you're ready to create the share.

Figure I

Review your selections

You're provided with a full progress update.

Figure J

The share was created successfully

You've now successfully shared a folder in Windows Server 2012.

Installing the General Use File Server Role and Scale-Out Server 2012

1. Click on Configure Role in the Actions pane in Failover Cluster Manager.
2. Click  Next on the Before You Begin page.
3. On the Select Role page, select the File Server role. Make sure there are no errors indicating the role is not installed on all nodes in the cluster, and click Next.

Figure 1

4. On the File Server Type page, select File Server for general use and click Next. Note that when you select this option, you have support for SMB and NFS shares, and you can also use File Server Resource Manager, Distributed File System Replication and other File Services role services.

Figure 2

5. On the Client Access Point page, enter the information for the Client Access Point (CAP) and click Next.
6. On the Select Storage page, enter a storage location for the data and click Next.
7. On the Confirmation page, read the Confirmation information and click Next.
8. On the Summary page, you can click the View Report button if you want to see details of the configuration. Click Finish.

Now that the role is installed, you can create file shares on the failover cluster.

Perform the following steps to create the file shares:

1. Click the File Server Role in the Failover Cluster Manager and in the Actions pane, click Add File Share.
2. The server configuration will be retrieved as a connection is made to the File and Storage ServicesManagement interface.
3. The Select Profile page presents you with five options. For our purposes, you can choose either SMB Share - Basic or SMB Share - Advanced and click Next

Figure 3

4. On the Share Location page, choose a Share Location and click Next.
5. On the Share Name page, provide a Share Name and click Next.
6. On the Other Settings page, there are a number of additional share settings from which you can choose. Notice that Enable Continuous Availability is checked by default; this is to take advantage of the new SMB v3 functionality (Transparent Failover). Another new feature in SMB v3 enables you to encrypt the SMB connection without requiring the overhead of IPsec. You can find out more about SMB v3 here. Click Next.

Figure 4

7. On the Permissions page, you can configure permissions to control access (both NTFS and share permissions). Click Next

Figure 5

8. On the Confirmation page, review the information and click Create.

When the share is configured, it will appear in the Shares tab.

Figure 6

If you prefer the command line, you can also get information about the share by using the PowerShell cmdlet Get-SMBShare.

Another place you can find share information is in the File and Storage Services Management Interface in Server Manager.

Installing the Scale-Out File Server Role

The Scale-Out File Server role is new in Windows Server 2012. With the many new technologies in Windows Server 2012, you can provide continuously available file services for application data and, at the same time, respond to increased demands quickly by bringing more servers online. Scale-Out File Servers take advantage of new features included in Windows Server 2012 Failover Clustering. The key new features that are included in Windows Server 2012, which enable the Scale Out Server Role, include the following:

• Distributed Network Name (DNN) – this is the name that client systems use to connect to cluster shared resources
• Scale-Out File Server resource type
• Cluster Shared Volumes Version 2 (CSVv2)
• Scale-Out File Server Role

Note that Failover Clustering is required for Scale-Out File Servers and the clusters of Scale Out File Servers are limited to four servers. Also, the File Server role service must be enabled on all nodes in the cluster. 

SMB v3, which is installed and enabled by default in Windows Server 2012, provides several features that support continuous availability of file shares to end users and applications. It’s important to point out that Scale-Out File Servers support storing application data on file shares and that SMB v3 will provide continuous availability for those shares for the two supported applications, which are Hyper-V and SQL Server. Specific capabilities that exist as part of the new SMBv2.2 functionality include:

• SMB2 Transparent Failover – this allows all members of the cluster to host the shared resources and makes it possible for clients to connect to other members of the cluster transparently, without any perceptible disconnection on the client side.
• MB2 Multichannel – this enables the use of multiple network connections to connect to cluster hosted resources and enables the cluster members to be highly available by supporting out of the box NIC teaming and bandwidth aggregation.
• SMB2 Direct (RDMA) – this makes it possible to take advantage of the full speed of the NICs without impacting the processors on the cluster members; it also makes it possible to obtain full wire speed and network access speeds comparable to direct attached storage.

For more information about the Scale-Out File Server role, check out this link.

Perform the following steps to create a Scale-Out File Server Role:

1. Click Configure Role in the Actions pane in Failover Cluster Manager.
2. On the Before You Begin page, click Next.
3. On the Select Role page, click the File Server role. Make sure there are no errors indicating the role is not installed on all nodes in the cluster and click Next.

Figure 7

4. On the File Server Type page, select File Server for scale-out application data and click Next. Note that when you select this role, there is support only for SMB v3 shares; that is, there is no support for NFS shares. In addition, with this configuration you will not be able to use some file server role services, such as FSRM and DFS replication.

Figure 8

5. On the Client Access Point page, enter a valid NetBIOS name for the Client Access Point and click Next.
6. On the Confirmation page, review the information and click Next.
7. When the wizard completes, you can click the View Report button to see details of the configuration. ClickFinish.

Now that the role is installed, you’re ready to create file shares for applications where you can place the application data.

Perform the following steps to create shared folders:

1. Click the File Server Role in the Failover Cluster Manager, and in the Actions pane, click on Add File Share.
2. The server configuration will be retrieved as a connection is made to the File and Storage Services Management interface.
3. On the Select Profile page of the New Share Wizard, choose SMB Share - Server Application for the profile and click Next.

Figure 9

4. On the Share Location page, you should see only Cluster Shared Volumes.  Select a volume where you want to place the share and click Next.

Figure 10

5. On the Share Name page, enter a Share Name and click Next.
6. On the Other settings page, note that Enable continuous availability is selected by default. Click Next.
7. On the Permissions page, you can configure permissions to control access (both NTFS and share permissions) as needed. Click Next.
8. Review the information on the Confirmation screen and click Create.

The Shares tab reflects all the shares that are configured on the CSV volumes.

Figure 11

The Distributed Network Name resource, which is part of the Scale-Out File Server role, has no dependencies on IP addresses; that means you don’t have to configure anything in advance for this to work. The reason for this is that the resource registers the node IP addresses for each node in the cluster in DNS. These IP addresses can be static IP addresses or they can be managed by DHCP. The IP address of each of the nodes in the cluster is recorded in DNS and is mapped to the Distributed Network Name. Clients then receive up to six addresses from the DNS server and DNS round robin is used to distribute the load.

Deploying a Namespace

Step 1 - Create a Namespace

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click the Namespaces node, and then click New Namespace.
2. Follow the steps in the New Namespace Wizard
1-Namespace Server:


Enter the name of the server to host the namespace. The server can be a domain controller or a member server.


2-Namespace Name and Settings:


In Name, type Public.


3-Namespace Type:


If AD DS is deployed in your test lab and you are a member of the Domain Admins group or have been delegated permission to create domain-based namespaces, choose Domain-based namespace. Otherwise, choose Stand-alone namespace. For more information about namespace types, see "Namespace types and modes" earlier in this guide.
To learn how a member of the Domain Admins group can delegate permission to create domain-based namespaces, see Delegate Management Permissions for DFS Namespaces.


4-Review Settings and Create Namespace:


Click Create to create the namespace.


5-Confirmation:


Click Close to close the wizard.




When the wizard finishes, your new namespace will be added to the console tree. Double-click the Namespaces node, if necessary, to view your namespace, which should be similar to the following figure.

To browse the new namespace, type the following command in the Run dialog box, substituting either the server name (if you created a stand-alone namespace) or the domain name (if you created a domain-based namespace) as appropriate:
\\ server_or_domain \Public
For information about how to migrate an existing namespace to Windows Server 2008 mode, see Migrate a Domain-based Namespace to Windows Server 2008 Mode.










Add Namespace Server:


3. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click \\domain\Public, and then click Add Namespace Server.
4. In Namespace server, type the name of another server to host the namespace, and then click OK.

After you finish this procedure, click the \\domain\Public namespace in the console tree and review the contents of the Namespace Servers tab in the details pane, which should look similar to the following figure. Notice that two UNC paths are listed. The site of each namespace server is also displayed.

Step 3 Delegate permission to manage an existing namespace

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click \\server_or_domain\Public, and then click Delegate Management Permissions.
2. Type the name of a user or group that you want to manage the namespace, and then click OK.

After you finish this procedure, review the contents of the Delegation tab in the details pane. It should look similar to the following figure.

Notice that the user or group you added shows "Explicit" in the How Permission Is Granted column. "Explicit" means that you can remove the user or group from the delegation list by right-clicking the user or group, and then clicking Remove. Any users or groups that show "Inherited" have inherited management permissions from AD DS, and you cannot remove them from the delegation list using the DFS Management snap-in.


Step 4 Add Folders to the Namespace

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click \\server_or_domain\Public, and then click New Folder.
2. In Name, type Software, and then click OK.

Note that the previous procedure creates a new folder in the namespace to build depth in the namespace hierarchy. You are not specifying the name of an existing folder, nor will you store data in this folder. This folder will not have folder targets that direct clients to other servers.

After you finish this procedure, the Software folder is added to the console tree as shown in the following figure. (You might need to double-click the\\server_or_domain\Public root to display the Software folder.

Next, you add two folders with targets to the namespace. You create one folder named Tools within the Software folder, and you create another folder named Training Guides directly under the root named Public.

To create a folder named Tools in the namespace

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click the Software folder, and then click New Folder.
2. In Name, type Tools.
3. Click Add to add a folder target.
4. Click Browse to open the Browse for Shared Folders dialog box.
5. In Server, enter the name of the server that will host the Tools shared folder.
6. Click New Shared Folder.
7. In the Create Share dialog box, in the Share name box, type Tools, and then enter the local path where you want the shared folder to be created. If the folder does not exist, you are prompted to create it. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

After you finish this procedure, the Tools folder is added to the console tree as shown in the following figure. (You might need to double-click the Software folder to display the Tools folder.) Notice the icon next to the Tools folder and how it differs from the Software folder’s icon. This icon appears next to all folders that have targets to differentiate them from folders that do not have targets.

Now, select the Tools folder and review the contents of the Folder Targets tab in the details pane. Notice there is a single path shown. This means that only one server hosts the folder target that corresponds to the Tools folder. If that server becomes unavailable, the shared folder is also unavailable.

To increase the availability of the Tools folder, you can add a second folder target.

To add a second folder target to the Tools folder

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click the Tools folder, and then click Add Folder Target.
2. Click Browse to open the Browse for Shared Folders dialog box.
3. In Server, enter the name of another server that will host the Tools shared folder. Be sure to enter a different server from the one you specified in the previous procedure.
4. Click New Shared Folder.
5. In the Create Share dialog box, in the Share name box, type Tools, and then enter the local path where you want the shared folder to be created. If the folder does not exist, you are prompted to create it. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.
6. You are prompted to choose whether to create a replication group for these folder targets. For now, click No. You will enable DFS Replication on this folder in a later task.

To create a folder named Training Guides in the namespace

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click \\server_or_domain\Public, and then click New Folder.
2. In Name, type Training Guides.
3. Click Add to add a folder target.
4. Click Browse to open the Browse for Shared Folders dialog box.
5. In Server, enter the name of the server that will host the Training Guides shared folder.
6. Click New Shared Folder.
7. In the Create Share dialog box, in the Share name box, type Training Guides, and then enter the local path where you want the shared folder to be created. If the folder does not exist, you are prompted to create it. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

When you finish these procedures, your namespace will look like the following figure.

Step 5 Rename and Move a Folder

You can use the DFS Management snap-in to rename folders or move folders to another location in the namespace. This is useful if you need to change a folder name or restructure the namespace.

In this task, you rename the Training Guides folder to Training Demos and move it to the Software folder. Currently, your namespace should look similar to the following figure.

To rename the Training Guides folder

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click the Training Guides folder, and then click Rename Folder.
2. In the Rename Folder dialog box, in New name, type Training Demos.

To move the Training Demos folder

• In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, click the Training Demos folder, and then drag it to the Software folder.

After you finish these procedures, your namespace should look like this:

Step 6 Replicate a Folder in the Namespace Using DFS Replication

In this task, you enable DFS Replication on the Tools folder. If you recall from "Task 4: Add Folders to the Namespace," you created two folder targets for the Tools folder. Because users can be directed to either one of the folder targets, you need to ensure that the contents of the folders are kept synchronized.

If you are familiar with File Replication Service (FRS) in Windows Server 2003, you know that FRS is only supported in domain-based namespaces. In Windows Server 2008, you can use DFS Replication in both stand-alone and domain-based namespaces. Therefore, you can complete this task regardless of the type of namespace you created in "Task 1: Create a Namespace."

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, right-click the Tools folder, and then click Replicate Folder.
2. Follow the steps in the Replicate Folder Wizard

1-Replication Group and Replicated Folder Name:

Accept the defaults.

2-Replication Eligibility:

Accept the defaults.

3-Primary Member:

If the folder targets are empty, choose either member. If both folder targets contain content, choose the member that has the most up-to-date content.

4-Topology Selection:

Select Full mesh.

5-Replication Group Schedule and Bandwidth:

Select Replicate continuously using the specified bandwidth.

6-Review Settings and Create Replication Group:

Click Create to create the replication group.

7-Confirmation:

Click Close to close the wizard.

8-Replication Delay:

Click OK to close the dialog box that warns you about the delay in initial replication.

After you finish the previous procedure, navigate to the Replication node in the console tree. Notice that a new replication group has been created, as shown in the following figure.

If you are not familiar with DFS Replication terminology, a replication group is a set of servers, known as members, that participates in the replication of one or more replicated folders. A replicated folder is a folder that is kept synchronized on each member. When you enable DFS Replication on a folder with targets, the servers that host the folder targets become members of the replication group, and the folder targets are associated with the replicated folder. The name of the replication group matches the namespace path (Contoso.com\Public\Software\Tools), and the name of the replicated folder matches the folder name (Tools).

From the Replication node, you can manage aspects of DFS Replication, such as the schedule and bandwidth usage, file and subfolder filters, and the topology (a framework of replication paths between members). On the Replicated Folders tab in the details pane, you can also view the namespace path that corresponds to the replicated folder, as shown in the following figure.

If you navigate back to the Tools folder in the Namespaces node, notice that the Replication tab in the details pane shows that the Tools folder is being replicated using DFS Replication.

If one of the folders targets contained data when you enabled DFS Replication, you can verify that replication has completed by clicking the Folder Targets tab, right-clicking the folder target that initially held no data, and then clicking Open in Explorer. After the initial replication delay, the files in this folder target should match the files in the target that initially held the data.

Another way to view the status of replication is to create a diagnostic report. You will do this in the following task.




Step 7 Create a Diagnostic Report

1. In the console tree of the DFS Management snap-in, under the Replication node, right-click the \\domain\Public\Software\Tools replication group, and then clickCreate Diagnostic Report.
2. Follow the steps in the Diagnostic Report Wizard

1-Type of Diagnostic Report or Test:

Accept the defaults.

2-Path and Name:

Accept the defaults.

3-Members to Include:

Accept the defaults.

4-Options:

Ensure that Yes, count backlogged files in this report is selected, select the server that has the most up-to-date files from Reference Member, and then select the Count the replicated files and their sizes on each member check box.

5-Review Settings and Create Report:

Click Create to create the diagnostic report.

6-Confirmation:

The wizard closes automatically, and the diagnostic report appears.

Review the health report created for the Tools replication group. In particular, take a look at the following sections:

• Note the DFS Replication bandwidth savings. This savings will change over time as files are added and changed.
• Review any errors or warnings, if any, for the members. These are typically event log errors that appear in the member's respective DFS Replication event log.
• In the informational section for each member, review the replicated folder status (the status will be "Normal" after initial replication is complete) and other information. Notice that the primary member will show different statistics from the non-primary member; this is because data originated from the primary member and replicated to the non-primary member during initial replication.

The Diagnostic Report Wizard creates the health report by default. Note that you can set the wizard to perform the following operations as well:

• Run a propagation test.
• Create a propagation report.

A propagation test measures replication progress by creating a test file in a replicated folder. A propagation report provides information about the replication progress for the test file created during a propagation test.

1. Click Start, click Run, type \\server_or_domain\Public, and then click OK.
   Windows Explorer opens and your view of the namespace looks similar to the following figure:
   
2. In Windows Explorer, click the Folders button to display the Public root in the folder tree.
3. In the folder tree, right-click Public, and then click Properties to open the Properties dialog box.
4. On the DFS tab, review the paths listed under Referral list. These are the root targets in the root referral that the client received when it accessed\\server_or_domain\Public. These should match the root targets you created earlier in this guide. The target marked Active is the target currently connected to your client computer.
5. Click OK to close the dialog box.

To browse to the Tools and Training Demos folders and view their folder referrals

1. In Windows Explorer, double-click the Software folder. You should see two folders, Tools and Training Demos.
2. Double-click the Tools folder to open it.
3. In the folder tree, right-click the Tools folder, and then click Properties.
4. On the DFS tab, review the paths listed under Referral list. These are the folder targets in the folder referral that the client received when it accessed\\server_or_domain\Public\Software\Tools. These should match the folder targets you created earlier in this guide. The target marked Active is the target currently connected to your client computer, which should be a different target from the one you marked as Last among all targets when you set the target priority.
5. Click OK to close the dialog box.
6. Click the Training Demos folder in the folder tree to open it.
7. Right-click the Training Demos folder in the folder tree, click Properties, and then click the DFS tab. Notice that only one folder target is listed in the referral list. Your client computer is currently connected to this folder target.