Specifications

Best Practices for Virtualizing and Managing Exchange 2013

Server Message Block 3.0

The Server Message Block (SMB) protocol is a network file sharing protocol that allows applications to

read, create, update, and access files or other resources at a remote server. The SMB protocol can be used

on top of its TCP/IP protocol or other network protocols. Windows Server 2012 introduces the new 3.0

version of the SMB protocol that greatly enhances the reliability, availability, manageability, and

performance of file servers. SMB 3.0 also allows you to create a failover cluster without shared storage or

expensive storage area networks (SANs).

Hyper-V over SMB

By enabling Hyper-V to use SMB file shares, you can greatly enhance performance with easy and

inexpensive deployments of virtual storage. Hyper-V over SMB can be used to keep virtual storage (.vhd

and .vhdx files) on a remote file server rather than requiring the Hyper-V host to manage the storage for

its many virtual machines. This allows Hyper-V hosts to provide compute resources with many processors

and RAM while using virtual storage resources provided by file servers. Hyper-V over SMB requires:

 One or more computers running Windows Server 2012 with the Hyper-V and File and Storage

Services roles installed.

 A common Active Directory infrastructure. (The servers running Active Directory Domain Services

do not have to run Windows Server 2012.)

Note that failover clustering on the Hyper-V side, the File and Storage Services side, or both is optional.

Hyper-V over SMB supports a variety of flexible configurations that offer different levels of capabilities

and availability. These configurations include Single-Node File Server, Dual-Node File Server, and Multi-

Node File Server, as shown in the following figures.

Single-Node File Server: In a Single-Node File Server, Hyper-V shares are used for VHD storage (Figure

11). File servers use standalone and local storage. This configuration provides flexibility for shared storage,

as well as low costs for acquisition and operation. It does not provide continuous availability. Storage is

not fault-tolerant, and Hyper-V virtual machines are not highly available.

Figure 11: Single-Node File Server