Storage Pools = Horror Pools – Change Wish List

Storage pools should not be used for important files until Microsoft makes changes.

I have experienced trauma with Storage Pools and Virtual Disks, which as of this date remains unresolved. The tools available on Windows 2012 Server Essentials are inadequate for both the management of the disks and the recovery of errors.

One disk drive failed out of 2 Virtual disks, and 10 drives, in a Storage Pool and this made the Pool and both Virtual Disks inaccessible. The details are reported in:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/cbf4a54b-5c01-4e62-a9de-b8aca3bc9a07/unable-to-attach-virtual-disk-in-a-storage-pool?forum=winserveressentials

Others have reported similar issues with Storage Pools:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/6084483e-cb47-413e-b389-ec374b6056f8/storage-pool-with-two-virtual-disks-cannot-remove-physical-disk?forum=winserver8gen

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ee9fb7c9-783c-434d-905b-8d25f5e0ce3c/cannot-create-virtual-disk-not-enough-eligible-physical-disks-in-the-storage-pool?forum=winserverfiles

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/12d63e5b-84a4-4efe-8951-2274d1a3b6c9/storage-spacesthe-perfect-stormhardware-failure-on-servermove-the-7-disks-to-a-new?forum=winserveressentials

The following is a Wish List for changes.

Incorporate Storage Pools fully into the logs with a KB article for every error reported.

Provide a rich GUI wizard for file and directory recovery on Virtual Disks. Generate a log of the processes and file movements when recovery takes place.

Enable file balancing on the physical disks of a Virtual Disk – that is, to move files off a loaded disk and other movements including for retired disks. Allow for the ease of removal of disks.

Enable access to the directory and files on individual disks or groups of selected disks within a Virtual Disk irrespective of the status of the Virtual Disk.

Provide a BPA for Virtual Disks and Storage Pools. This would analyze the disks and make recommendations for changes to the disks or pools to improve performance, file balancing, disk and pool size and vulnerabilities.

Link the BPA above to a Wizard for corrective action.

Provide a wizard for Virtual Disk and Storage Pool migration. Migration can be between Storage Pools, servers, Windows 8 and even other disks including RAID. Migration can be over the network or between physical drives.

Expand significantly the information available on KB articles on the use, management and recovery of Virtual Disks and Storage Pools.

Expand the Server Manager and Control Panel GUI to incorporate access to more of the parameters associated with disk and file management system. Provide associated KB articles on the functions enabled.

Described, in detail, any hardware requirements for the disks and housings associated with Virtual Disks. For example, can a disk within an enclosure be moved to a HBA with direct connection and still be a part of the same virtual disk? There remains uncertainty on the hardware requirements for Virtual Disks.

Others can add to the list based on their experience.