> Here's my situation. I have a Hyper-V host and one of my MVs (running
> Windows
> Server 2003) is my primary file server. My current configuration is:
>
> - 2TB LUN from my SAN attached to my Hyper-V Host server
> - a 2TB VHD file on this disk, attached to my file server VM
>
> The VM has all of our shared files on this disk.
>
> Now, I am looking to expand our storage space on our file server. From my
> tests, expanding a VHD file (especially of this size) would take forever.
> So,
> my thought is this.
>
> - A new 4TB LUN exposed to my Hyper-V Host server (kept offline)
> - Attach this disk to my fileserver VM as a pass-through disk, foregoing
> the
> need for a 4TB VHD file.
>
> So, what do you think aobut this? Is a pass-through disk a better option
> (than a VHD file) in this case? Any other thoughts or opinions?
>
> Thanks!
>
> http://grinding-it-out.blogspot.com/

> Personally, I dislike passthrough disks. All the DR advantages of VHDs are
> gone. OTOH, one this size? I suspect I'd still eat the time to build the
> VHD. But I can understand the desire to bypass that.
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>
>
> "DerekM" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
> > Here's my situation. I have a Hyper-V host and one of my MVs (running
> > Windows
> > Server 2003) is my primary file server. My current configuration is:
> >
> > - 2TB LUN from my SAN attached to my Hyper-V Host server
> > - a 2TB VHD file on this disk, attached to my file server VM
> >
> > The VM has all of our shared files on this disk.
> >
> > Now, I am looking to expand our storage space on our file server. From my
> > tests, expanding a VHD file (especially of this size) would take forever.
> > So,
> > my thought is this.
> >
> > - A new 4TB LUN exposed to my Hyper-V Host server (kept offline)
> > - Attach this disk to my fileserver VM as a pass-through disk, foregoing
> > the
> > need for a 4TB VHD file.
> >
> > So, what do you think aobut this? Is a pass-through disk a better option
> > (than a VHD file) in this case? Any other thoughts or opinions?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > http://grinding-it-out.blogspot.com/
>
>

> Derek,
>
> If you are trying to stick with a VHD solution, then you are limited to a
> 2TB VHD (2040 GB to be exact). Also, to take this a bit further this is only
> supported if attached to a virtual SCSI adapter. If attached to a virtual IDE
> controller, then you are limited to 127GB. If you want to go beyond 2TB to
> the 4-6TB range then using a pass-through disk is going to be your only
> option.
>
>
> "DerekM" wrote:
>
> > Thank you for the imput.
> >
> > As I mentioned, I am expanding from 2TB of storage to 4TB of storage. If I
> > go the 'VHD' path, what are my options when I need to go from 4TB to 6TB (or
> > more)?
> >
> > Expanding a LUN is pretty straightforward and has no real downtime. I'm not
> > sure that would be the same for a VHD. I am not sure I can afford having my
> > fileserver offline for two days while my VHD file expands from 4TB to 6TB.
> >
> > I am curious if anyone else is trying to do anything similar... explosing
> > large amounts of storage from a VM...
> >
> > Derek
> >
> >
> >
> > "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:
> >
> > > Personally, I dislike passthrough disks. All the DR advantages of VHDs are
> > > gone. OTOH, one this size? I suspect I'd still eat the time to build the
> > > VHD. But I can understand the desire to bypass that.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Charlie.
> > > http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
> > > http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
> > >
> > >
> > > "DerekM" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> > > news:(email address - cut out)...
> > > > Here's my situation. I have a Hyper-V host and one of my MVs (running
> > > > Windows
> > > > Server 2003) is my primary file server. My current configuration is:
> > > >
> > > > - 2TB LUN from my SAN attached to my Hyper-V Host server
> > > > - a 2TB VHD file on this disk, attached to my file server VM
> > > >
> > > > The VM has all of our shared files on this disk.
> > > >
> > > > Now, I am looking to expand our storage space on our file server. From my
> > > > tests, expanding a VHD file (especially of this size) would take forever.
> > > > So,
> > > > my thought is this.
> > > >
> > > > - A new 4TB LUN exposed to my Hyper-V Host server (kept offline)
> > > > - Attach this disk to my fileserver VM as a pass-through disk, foregoing
> > > > the
> > > > need for a 4TB VHD file.
> > > >
> > > > So, what do you think aobut this? Is a pass-through disk a better option
> > > > (than a VHD file) in this case? Any other thoughts or opinions?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks!
> > > >
> > > > http://grinding-it-out.blogspot.com/
> > >
> > >