How would I increase Disk Space on a MS Server 2019 Stretched Fileshare Cluster

Question

Hi Everyone,

ENVIRONMENT INFO:

We have a MS File (Stretch) Cluster that spans 2 buildings separated by two city blocks. This Fileshare cluster is not within Active Directory.

In Building A we have a storage appliance whose Volumes are presented to 1 Physical Windows 2019 server (Fiber Attached). There are 3 Volumes presented to the Windows 2019 Server as listed below:

50TB Volume on LUN1 (Data)
10TB VSS Volume on LUN2 (For Previous File Restores)
50GB Log Volume on LUN3 (Used by MS Cluster Replication)

Shares are created and made available to the user via Drive Mapping within our various GPOs. The cluster has a file share witness. We do not use MS Storage Pools.

In Building B we have the exact same setup. No physical hardware is shared between Building A's and Building B's File-share Cluster Environment. Using MS Stretch Cluster we were able to stretch the cluster between both buildings with each building having its own hardware (in regards to the file-share Environment).

PROBLEM / CONCERNS:

That said, everything is working fine however it has come time to grow volume #1 from 50TB to 65TB. We have the additional space available in the Storage appliances in both buildings. After some research I found some information on how to do this, but all of what I found was in respect to a MS File-share Cluster where the storage is shared. So I have two questions:

(1). After some research I gathered a process to doing this but would like to ensure that I have the proper procedure for our situation where the Storage Appliance is not shared.  What I plan to do is below:

	a. Access both of the Storage appliance Consoles and grow the applicable Volume.   Ensure that both Storage appliances have the same disk space configured after the Volume is extended.
	b. Stop the cluster service on the Standby Node
	c. On the Primary Node enter the following commands:
		1. Run "DiskPart" from an elevated command prompt
		2. Type "rescan"
		3. Type "list volume"
		4. Type "select volume ?" {enter volume number that needs to grow from #3 step}
		5. Type "extend" 
		6. Type "list volume" and confirm that the additional space is shown
		7. Check Disk Manager and Failover Cluster Manager to ensure the disk space has been updated
	d. On the Secondary Node, enter the same commands (as executed on the Primary Node above).  Also perform the same checks in #6 & #7 above.  If everything checks out, start the cluster service on the Secondary Node.
	e. For testing I would change some files, add some files, delete some files.  Then fail over to the Standby Node and ensure all those file changes have synced over to the Standby node.  Then I would make some changes on the Active Node (which was the standby node) and fail over to the Standby node and check that the file changes have synced over.
	f. Please let me know if I missed anything and please suggest any changes in my process or potential issues I may face.  Let me know if anything should be adjusted being that this is a Stretch File Share cluster where the two nodes have their own fiber attached storage appliance.


(2). I would also like to increase the amount of VSS snapshots on my VSS volume.  If I understand correctly, there is a max of 64TB per volums and 64 shadow copies per volume.  I would like to increase the max limit slowly as not to cause any performance issues.  Does anyone have any advice in regards to whether this would be ok to do in my Fileshare Cluster setup?  I am referring to adjusting the "maxshadowcopies" registry key as described here (my concern is that it makes no mention of Server 2019 and/or File Share Clusters --> https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/backup/registry-keys-for-backup-and-restore?redirect...

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hi Danny,

Hope you're doing well.

Regarding the first question, from my point of view, there is no problem. However, due to resource limitations, I cannot reproduce it. So I suggest you to go to the Microsoft Customer Service Center to open a Premier-level case so that with their permission level and resource, Microsoft could provide you with better help on your request.

You are correct that there is a maximum of 64TB per volume and 64 shadow copies per volume for VSS snapshots. If you want to increase the number of VSS snapshots on your VSS volume, you can try the following steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box, typing "regedit", and pressing Enter.
2. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Settings
3. Right-click on the "Settings" key and select "New" > "DWORD (32-bit) Value".
4. Name the new value "MaxShadowCopies".
5. Double-click on the "MaxShadowCopies" value and set the value data to the number of shadow copies you want to allow.
6. Click "OK" to save the changes.

It's important to note that increasing the number of VSS snapshots can have an impact on performance, so it's recommended to increase the limit slowly and monitor the system for any performance issues.

Note: Just in case, it's necessary to backup your registry.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

---

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.