Introduction

The Configure local storage module provides you with the instruction and server
hardware to develop your hands on skills in the defined topics. This module includes
the following exercises:

1) Configure Basic and Dynamic Disks

2) Create and mount VHD

Lab Diagram
During your session you will have access to the following lab configuration.

PLABDC01 PLABDM01 PLABDM02

192.168.0.1 /24 192.168.0.2 /24 192.168.0.3 /24

PLABSA01 PLABWIN810 PLABWIN701

192.168.0.4 /24 192.168.0.5 /24 192.168.0.6 /24

Connecting to your lab

In this module you will be working on the following equipment to carry out the steps
defined in each exercise.

 PLABDC01 (Domain Controller)

 PLABDM01 (Domain Member Server)

Each exercise will detail which console you are required to work on to carry out the
steps.

To start simply click on the named Server from the device list (located on the left
hand side of the screen) and click the Power on from the in tools bar. In some cases
the devices may power on automatically.

During the boot up process an activity indicator will be displayed in the name tab:

 Black - Powered Off

 Orange - Working on your request
 Green - Ready to access

If the remote console is not displayed automatically in the main window (or
popup) click the Connect icon located in the tools bar to start your session.

If the remote console does not appear please try the following option:

 Switch between the HTML 5 and Java client versions in the tools bar.

In the event this does not resolve your connectivity problems please visit our Help /
Support pages for additional resolution options.

Copyright Notice

This document and its content is copyright of Practice-IT - © Practice-IT 2014. All rights reserved. Any
redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the
following:

1) You may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use
only.

2) You may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you
acknowledge the website as the source of the material. You may not, except with our express written
permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any
other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.
Exercise 1 - Configure Basic and
Dynamic Disks
In this exercise, you will perform the tasks required to configure local storage.

Please refer to your course material or use your favourite search engine to research
for more information about this topic.
Task 1: Configure Basic and Dynamic Disks
To configure basic and dynamic disks, perform the following steps:

Step 1
Ensure you have powered on the required devices and connect to PLABDM01.

Start Server Manager if it is already not started.

In the upper right hand corner, click Tools, and then select Computer Management.

Step 2
The Computer Management snap-in is displayed.
Step 3
In the left pane, click Disk Management in the Storage section.

In the right pane, note that Disk 1 is shown as Offline.

Step 4
Right-click Disk 1 and select Online.

Note that now the disk is no longer offline but it is marked as Not Initialized.
Step 5
You will have to now initialize the disk. Right-click and select Initialize Disk. The
Initialize Disk dialog box is displayed.

Click OK.
Step 6
The disk is now Online and is a Basic disk.

Note: If disk is already online, you will not have to perform the steps that have
been performed above. However, if the disk is raw and is offline and not initialized,
then you will have to perform the above shown steps.
Step 7
You will now convert a basic disk to dynamic disk.

Right-click on Disk 1 and select Convert to Dynamic Disk.

The Convert to Dynamic Disk dialog box is displayed. Disk 1 is selected by default.

Click OK.
Step 8
Note that Disk 1 is now converted to Dynamic.
Step 9
Let’s now create a simple volume on the dynamic disk that you just converted. Right-
click in the grey box that states 10.00 GB Unallocated and select New Simple
Volume.

The New Simple Volume Wizard is displayed.

Click Next.
Step 10
On the Specify Volume Size screen, enter 5000 in the Simple volume size in MB
and click Next.
Step 11
On the Assign Drive Letter or Path screen, keep the default values and click Next.
Step 12
On the Format Partition screen, keep the default values and click Next.
Step 13
On the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard screen, click Finish.
Step 14
Note that a new simple volume has been created.
Step 15
Let’s now try to convert the dynamic disk back to the basic disk. Right-click in the
Disk 1 but this time the Convert to Basic Disk option does not appear. This means
that you will have to first delete the dynamic volume.

Note: You cannot convert a dynamic disk with volumes back to basic disk. You must
move your data to another disk, delete dynamic volumes, and then convert to basic
disk.

Right-click on New Volume (E:) and select Delete Volume. The Delete simple
volume dialog box is displayed.

Click Yes.
Step 16
Note that the dynamic volume is now deleted. The dynamic disk is automatically
converted back to the basic disk.
Step 17
Once again convert the Disk 1 to dynamic disk.

Now, right-click Disk 1 and select Convert to Basic Disk. Since there was no
dynamic volume, you could convert the dynamic disk back to the basic disk.
Task 2: Configure MBR and GPT disks
To configure MBR and GPT disks, perform the following steps:

Step 1
On PLABDM01, back in Disk Management go to the right pane, note that Disk 1 is
shown as Offline.
Step 2
Right-click Disk 1 and select Online.

Note that now the disk is no longer offline but it is marked as Not Initialized.
Step 3
You will have to now initialize the disk. Right-click and select Initialize Disk.

The Initialize Disk dialog box is displayed.

Click OK.
Step 4
The disk is now online and is a Basic disk.

Note that when you have a disk that is already initialized and is online, you will not
have to perform these steps. In this situation, you will need to simply convert from
MBR to GPT format.
Step 5
Right-click Disk 1 and select Convert to GPT Disk. The disk is now converted to GPT
disk.
Step 6
You can also convert it back to the MBR disk. Right-click Disk 1 and select Convert
to MBR Disk.

Disk 1 is now an MBR disk.

Leave the devices you have powered on in their current state and proceed to the
next exercise.
Exercise 2 - Create and mount VHD
In this exercise, you will perform the tasks required to configure NTFS permissions.

Please refer to your course material or use your favourite search engine to research
for more information about this topic.

Task 1: Creating a VHD

To create and mount VHD, perform the following steps:

Step 1
On PLABDM01, in the left pane, click Disk Management.

Right-click Disk Management and select Create VHD.

Step 2
The Create and Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box is displayed.

Step 3
In the Location text box, enter c:\plab and then specify 2048 in the Virtual hard disk
size.

Keep the remaining options and click OK.

Note: You can also use the Browse button to select the location where you want
to save the VHD. In this lab, c:\ is the location and plab is the VHD name.
Step 4
The status bar shows the progress in creating the VHD in the bottom right of the
screen.
Step 5
Note that in the bottom section of the middle pane, the Disk 4 appears.

You will now need to initialize the disk and make it online.

Right-click Disk 4 and select Initialize Disk.

Step 6
The Initialize Disk dialog box is displayed. Keep the default values and click OK.
Step 7
Note that disk is now initialized and automatically comes online.
Step 8
Since the VHD is now attached, you can detach and then re-attach the disk.

Right-click Disk 4 and select Detach VHD.

Step 9
The Detach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box is displayed.

Click OK.
Step 10
Note that Disk 4 no longer appears in the bottom section of middle pane.
Step 11
You will now re-attach the VHD. In the left pane, right-click Disk Management and
select Attach VHD.
Step 12
The Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box is displayed.
Step 13
The Browse Virtual Disk Files dialog box is displayed.

Navigate to the c:\ drive, select plab, and click Open.

Step 14
You are redirected back to the Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box. Click OK.
Step 15
Note that Disk 4 appears in the bottom section of middle pane.
Shutdown all virtual machines used in this lab, by using the power functions located
in the Tools bar before proceeding to the next module. Alternatively you can log out
of the lab platform.
Summary
In this module you covered the steps to manage disks including Basic and Dynamic
Disks, MBR and GPT disks and VHD’s. Understanding how to manage and configure
disks in Windows Server is fundamental part of being a proficient server engineer.