Configure storage and file services

This module covers how to configure and manage the Windows Server File Server role. You learn how to work with NTFS and ReFS file systems, configure File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) for quota management, file screening, storage reports, and classification, configure SMB 3.x features including encryption, multichannel, and SMB Direct for high-performance file access, disable SMB 1.0 to address security vulnerabilities, and use Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for backup and snapshot operations.

This module covers how to implement Storage Spaces and Storage Spaces Direct in Windows Server. You learn how to create storage pools from physical disks and configure virtual disks with simple, mirror, and parity resiliency, use storage tiers to combine SSDs and HDDs, choose between fixed and thin provisioning, and deploy Storage Spaces Direct for hyper-converged storage using Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs), the Software Storage Bus, and ReFS, configured through Windows Admin Center or PowerShell.

This module covers how to implement Data Deduplication in Windows Server. You learn how deduplication replaces duplicate data chunks with references to a chunk store, identify ideal candidates such as user documents, VDI libraries, software deployment shares, and backup volumes, install and enable deduplication using Windows Admin Center, Server Manager, or PowerShell, configure usage types and optimization schedules, and run optimization, garbage collection, and scrubbing jobs.

This module covers how to implement iSCSI block storage in Windows Server. You learn how iSCSI uses standard TCP/IP networks to provide SAN functionality without specialized cabling, install and configure the iSCSI Target Server role service and create virtual disks using PowerShell, connect iSCSI initiators to targets, and configure network redundancy using Multiple Connections per Session (MCS) and Multipath I/O (MPIO) with load balancing policies.

This module covers how to implement Storage Replica in Windows Server for disaster recovery and high availability. You learn how Storage Replica performs block-level replication between volumes using replication groups and partnerships, choose between synchronous and asynchronous replication modes, configure stretch failover clusters spanning two physical sites, validate prerequisites with Test-SRTopology, and deploy replication using Windows Admin Center or PowerShell with New-SRPartnership.

This module covers how to implement a hybrid file server infrastructure using Azure Files and Azure File Sync. You learn how to create and configure Azure file shares with identity-based authentication and NTFS permissions, deploy Azure File Sync with Storage Sync Service, sync groups, and server endpoints, configure cloud tiering policies to cache frequently accessed files locally while tiering cool files to Azure, and migrate from DFS Replication to Azure File Sync.