Create a Deduplicated Windows File Share on an SvSAN Mirrored Datastore
This article is intended for administrators wishing to understand the process of creating a deduplicated file share using Windows Failover Clustering on an SvSAN-backed mirrored datastore.
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Create a Deduplicated Windows File Share
Follow the steps below to prepare an SvSAN mirrored disk, create a clustered File Server role, publish an SMB share, and enable Windows Data Deduplication.
Create the SvSAN Mirrored Disk
Start by creating the SvSAN mirrored disk using one of the following methods:
- Create the mirrored disk using the VMware Plugin and delete the VMFS.
- Create the mirrored disk manually using the VSA Web GUI.
Present the storage to the Windows virtual machines either directly or by using SCSI Bus Sharing.
Relevant documentation:
Create the File System Drive for Sharing and Deduplication
Format the SvSAN disk within Windows that will be used for the deduplicated file share.
Initialize the SvSAN disk
Select New Simple Volume.
Create a New Simple Volume
Click Next and specify the size of the volume to be created.
Specify the volume size
Click Next and assign a drive letter.
Assign a drive letter
Select ReFS as the file system and assign a volume label.
Format the volume using ReFS
Click Finish to complete the formatting process.
Complete the format wizard
The completed disk should appear similar to the following:
Formatted ReFS volume
Add the Disk to the Windows Failover Cluster
With Disks selected, choose Add Disk.
Add a disk to the cluster
Select the newly formatted ReFS disk.
Select the formatted disk
Create the File Server Role
From Failover Cluster Manager, select Roles > Configure Role.
Configure a new cluster role
Select File Server and click Next.
Select the File Server role
Click Next.
Continue the role wizard
Select File Server for general use and click Next.
Choose File Server for general use
Under Client Access Point, enter the name that will appear on the network as the UNC path, specify the virtual failover IP address, and click Next.
Configure the client access point
In the Storage section, select the disk that will host the file share.
Select the storage disk
Confirm the configuration.
Review the configuration
Click Finish.
Complete the File Server role wizard
Add the File Share
From the Actions pane for the newly created File Server role, select Add File Share.
Add a new file share
Select SMB Share - Quick and click Next.
Select SMB Share - Quick
From Share location, choose Select by volume and click Next.
Choose the share location
Enter a name for the share (for example, DedupeShare) and click Next.
Specify the share name
Based on your requirements, optionally leave Enable continuous availability and Allow caching of share enabled, then click Next.
Configure share settings
Configure the required file access permissions and click Next.
Configure share permissions
Click Create.
Create the SMB share
When the share has been successfully created, click Close.
SMB share created successfully
Enable Deduplication on the Share
Open Server Manager and select Volumes.
Select the volume that will host the file share and choose Configure Data Deduplication.
Configure Data Deduplication
Select General purpose file server, configure the Deduplication age of files, and click Apply.
Configure deduplication settings
Optionally configure a deduplication schedule.
Configure a deduplication schedule
From Server Manager > Volumes, the Deduplication Rate and Savings can be monitored. In this example, deduplication savings are 48%.
Monitor deduplication savings
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