Storage Spaces Direct – Using Microsoft S2D to Optimize Your Server Storage
In enterprise environments, software-defined storage (SDS) solutions are becoming increasingly popular, as they significantly simplify the management and use of existing storage systems.
Organizations running their data centers on Windows Server 2016 or later versions can also rely on Microsoft’s native SDS solution. This built-in server feature is known as “Storage Spaces Direct.” By equipping their Windows storage servers with this software-defined storage solution, organizations can use a virtual storage pool to manage their storage capacities more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.
Storage Spaces Direct is not only a powerful SDS solution for Windows Server—when combined with professionally configured server systems from HAPPYWARE, it delivers exceptional performance. We’ll be happy to advise you on your optimal server setup.
What Is Storage Spaces Direct?
Storage Spaces Direct—also known in German as “Direkte Speicherplätze”—is a software feature first introduced by Microsoft with Windows Server 2016. Commonly abbreviated as “S2D,” it enables physical drives and storage capacities across storage servers to be combined into a single virtual storage pool. Storage Spaces Direct therefore represents Microsoft’s software-defined storage solution, which—aside from the mandatory use of the Windows Server Datacenter edition—places only minimal technical requirements on enterprise server hardware.
How Does Storage Spaces Direct Work? The Strengths of Microsoft’s SDS Solution
- Simple setup of the Storage Spaces Direct feature: Enabling S2D on a server requires only minimal configuration effort. Setup can be performed automatically using the “Enable-ClusterStorageSpacesDirect” cmdlet, with the installation adapting to the available server hardware. The built-in Windows Server configuration wizard actively prevents misconfigurations. No additional third-party software is required for managing Storage Spaces Direct, as Windows Server already provides all necessary administration tools out of the box—eliminating the need for staff training or additional setup costs.
- High availability of the storage setup: Rapid provisioning of storage resources is a major advantage of Windows Server with the S2D feature—but resilience is equally critical. Thanks to integrated fault tolerance, the failure of individual components, drives, or even entire servers does not put your data at risk, provided the cluster consists of at least two nodes.
- Intelligent caching & storage tiering: Storage Spaces Direct automatically detects the storage media within the pool, categorizes them by performance (NVMe/SSD/HDD), and assigns frequently accessed data and applications to the fastest drives. In addition, Windows Server leverages high-performance NVMe storage for caching via S2D.
- S2D for converged & hyper-converged storage servers: Using Storage Spaces Direct, organizations can choose between converged or a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) – a solution in which storage, computing, and virtualization are bundled on the same nodes. Depending on requirements, either two nodes or a single node can manage specific workloads. At the same time, there are no compromises in performance—Storage Spaces Direct delivers extremely low latency and strong IOPS figures regardless of the underlying storage.
- Comprehensive scalability with Storage Spaces Direct: Organizations looking to expand their S2D-based storage pool benefit from extensive scaling options. Depending on requirements, storage capacity can be scaled up to 16 servers and 400 drives per server cluster.
- Straightforward setups for virtualization and SDS requirements: Because Windows Server does not mandate a specific hardware configuration, organizations have complete flexibility when deploying S2D. Another key advantage is native support for Hyper-V and S2D—enabling high-performance virtual machines and SDS solutions without incurring additional licensing costs for third-party products.
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Storage Spaces Direct - Windows Servers custom-built by HAPPYWARE to fit your needs
Whether your priority is maximum performance, maximum storage capacity, or a balance of both, using servers from HAPPYWARE this can be achieved. Use Windows Server for your servers and data centres and benefit from comprehensive virtual storage pooling with Storage Spaces Direct.
HAPPYWARE offer a range of additional services:
- Windows Server based on your configurationYou can design the setup for your server/server cluster, and we will build the ideal Windows Storage Server and other server models for you.
- Server systems rent and leaseWe are able to supply Windows servers on a range of rent or lease contracts. Please contact us to discuss a finance model tailored to your budget and requirements.
- Warranty packages that suit your needsExpensive IT systems should always be protected against failures and similar problems. We have packages with progressive levels of support available. Individually compiled support can also be arranged if needed. We will be there if help is needed.
Reduce your storage costs effectively by using Windows Server with the SDS solution Storage Spaces Direct made by Microsoft. Here at HAPPYWARE you will find the best servers for a powerful server cluster setup.