Windows Storage Server 2008 R2: Known Issues and Updates

  • Article

This document details late-breaking information for Windows® Storage Server® 2008 R2. You can find more information on the Windows Storage Server blog.

In this document:

  • Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 1

  • Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 2

  • Initial Configuration Tasks issues

  • Failover cluster issues

  • Single Instance Storage issues

  • Accessibility issues

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 1

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 1 addresses the following issue:

  • KB982048-V2 - EULAs for Windows Storage Server 2008 Workgroup pre-installations

    This update should be installed by OEMs in Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 factory images to properly display the Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 EULA in 10 languages.

Software Requirements: Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 (x64) RTM

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 2

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Update 2 contains the following change:

  • KB2536469 – Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 - Two-Node Cluster OOBE Updates

    This package contains a re-release of KB976836, which contain the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) application used in Windows Storage Server 2008 R2.

Software Requirements: Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 (x64) RTM

This update should be installed by OEMs in Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 factory images to resolve issues:

  1. Domain Join Wizard: The order of operations has been changed when configuring a two-node cluster. The remote and local machine names are now set at the end of the list of task operations to avoid issues with specific domain controller configurations.

  2. Adding a User to the Domain: To improve the reliability of adding users, the process used to add an administrator to the local administrator group has changed to use the same format as the remotely administered PowerShell method.

  3. Highly Available File Server Suppression: You can now suppress the Highly Available File Server Name page in the Cluster Validation and Setup Wizard. This will allow OEMs to prevent a user from being able to create a HA file server instance in the prepare cluster wizard if OEM-supplied tools are being used for provisioning and HA file server creation. The suppression is enabled by using the following registry key:

    Reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\NASOOBE" /v SuppressHAFileServer /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f

Initial Configuration Tasks issues

  • The Trusted Hosts registry setting is overwritten when the Initial Configuration Tasks (ICT) window runs.

    The trusted_hosts registry key (located at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WSMAN\Client) is overwritten during the storage appliance setup on a two-node cluster. During network discovery, the private network IP address is written to this registry key.

    To resolve this issue, OEMs who want to use this registry key to store trusted hosts IP addresses must replace this value after the network discovery process completes.

Note

The Trusted Hosts registry setting has a character limit of 1023 characters. This is a limitation of the Windows operating system, and it is not a specific Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 limitation.

  • An exception is displayed when the Cluster Name and Domain Join Wizard runs if network communication between nodes become unavailable.

    When the Cluster Name and Domain Join Wizard runs, an exception is displayed if network connections between the first and second nodes become unavailable.

    To resolve this issue, verify the network connectivity between the nodes, and then manually configure both nodes of the cluster.

  • A domain account logon is required to continue the cluster setup tasks after the Cluster Name and Domain Join Wizard completes.

    When end users run the Cluster Name and Domain Join Wizard, they must create a domain account for the cluster, including creating a password for that account. When the wizard completes, the first node of the cluster must be restarted to save the changes from the wizard. When the system restarts, the end user must log on using that domain account to complete additional cluster configuration tasks from the ICT window. If the end user logs on using the previous local computer account, tasks involving the second node of the cluster will fail.

    To resolve this issue, the end user must log off the first node, and then use the new domain account to log on.

  • The Cluster Validation and Setup Wizard fails if the ClusterName and RemoteNodeName registry keys are not present on the first node of the cluster.

    As part of a two-node cluster configuration, an end user sets the cluster name and the names for each node of the cluster when the Configure Cluster and Domain Join Wizard runs.

    The cluster name and the name for the second cluster node are stored in the registry on the first cluster node at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NASOOBE. However, if the ClusterName and RemoteNodeName registry keys are not present on the first cluster node, the Cluster Validation and Setup Wizard fails to launch, and the following error messages are displayed:

    • Unable to retrieve the cluster name. Unable to find the registry string value "ClusterName".

    • Unable to retrieve the second node name. Unable to find the registry string value "RemoteNodeName".

    To resolve this issue, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NASOOBE on the first node, manually create the ClusterName and RemoteNodeName registry keys with the correct values, and then restart the Cluster Validation and Setup Wizard.

  • Cluster configuration tasks or cluster validation fail if the second cluster node is not available.

    The Cluster Validation and Setup Wizard fails to configure the quorum disk if the second cluster node is not available from the first node. Similarly, validation of the cluster configuration fails if the second cluster node is not available. This issue can occur when network connections are broken between nodes of the cluster.

    To resolve this issue, establish connectivity between the nodes of the cluster. Then from the second node, manually configure the quorum disk and validate the cluster.

Failover cluster issues

  • Using the Failover Cluster Management snap-in to create and configure a disk resource.

    If you use the Share and Storage Management snap-in to provision storage for a failover cluster, you may receive the following warning during the wizard set up: Create and configure a cluster disk resource. If this occurs, the resulting disk resource is assigned to a temporary resource group, and it will be unavailable to the cluster.

    To work around this issue, use the Failover Cluster Management snap-in to assign the disk to the correct cluster resource group, and then delete the temporary resource group that was created.

Note

If this warning occurs, and the disk is equal to or greater than 2 TB in size, you must use Diskpart.exe to obtain the GUID of the disk and then use the following command to bring the disk online:
cluster.exe res[resource name]/priv DiskIdGuid=[guid]

  • The File Server Resource Manager service must be restarted after forming a failover cluster.

    File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) can be preinstalled on the storage appliance as part of the File Services role. When the FSRM service starts, it determines whether the storage appliance is part of a cluster. If the storage appliance is not in a failover cluster, FSRM places the configuration data on the system volume.

    To resolve this issue, you must add the computer to a failover cluster, then restart the FSRM service so that FSRM can reevaluate whether the computer is part of a failover cluster. When FSRM detects the presence of a failover cluster, the configuration information will be created in the cluster database.

Note

Any configurations that you made using FSRM before you created the failover cluster and restarted the FSRM service will be lost, and they must be recreated in the failover cluster environment. If a computer running Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 is added to an existing failover cluster, FSRM will use the configuration data that is already present in the cluster database.

  • You cannot extend volumes by using Disk Management.

    The option to extend a volume on a failover cluster is unavailable in the Disk Management snap-in for volumes other than the system volume.

    To work around this issue, extend volumes by using the DiskPart.exe utility.

Single Instance Storage issues

  • Single Instance Storage (SIS) and FSRM may display incorrect disk space.

    If SIS is enabled on a volume, File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) may incorrectly report the amount of disk space usage on that volume for a user. This disparity occurs when files are migrating to the SIS Common Store.

  • Cannot install SIS on a volume without a mount point.

    If you install SIS on a volume without a mount point (such as on drive C or in a folder) the operation will fail while incorrectly displaying a message similar to the following:

    SIS has been initialized on volume '\\?\Volume{f2eb8acf-0ad7-49b3-bd92-b93ce5680c85}\'. Restarting the Groveler service...

    To resolve this issue, assign a mount point to the volume before you enable SIS for the volume.

  • Groveler service may not recognize a volume after the drive letter changes.

    SIS requires that all volumes that are using SIS be assigned a drive letter or a folder mount point. If you use the Disk Management snap-in to change the drive letter or folder mount point of a SIS volume, the Groveler service may fail to immediately recognize the new configuration.

    To resolve this issue, use the sisadmin.exe /I command to assign a drive letter to a volume or a mount point to a folder. The Groveler service should adapt to the change within an hour and restore full functionality.

Accessibility issues

  • iSCSI Software Target 3.3 Help does not document keyboard shortcuts.

    The Help file that is associated with the iSCSI Software Target 3.3 does not include content that documents keyboard shortcuts.

    Review the Windows Storage Server blogfor news about documentation updates.

  • Unexpected Tab key behavior occurs when selecting virtual disks.

    When a user attempts to access virtual disks from the Snapshot Storage tab of the VHD properties dialog box, the Tab key does not allow the user to select from available virtual disks.

    To work around this issue, select the desired virtual disk by using the arrow keys.

  • The Create Virtual Disk Wizard does not adequately describe user options.

    The Create Virtual Disk Wizard includes pages or dialog boxes that do not provide enough information to help users choose the appropriate values during the creating virtual hard disks (VHD) creation process. Specifically, the Create Virtual Disk Wizard includes the following issues:

    • On the File page, the description for the File field should specify that the VHD file name use the following format: local\valid full name.vhd (not non-fixed\dynamic\network path).

    • On the Size page, the Size of virtual disk (MB) field should include a label that describes the range of possible values. These values are 8 MB to ~16 TB.

  • On the Files page, the File Path column should include a label that describes the type of VHD file path that is acceptable. For example, an acceptable file path is: local/valid/existing/not in used VHD file.

  • In the Snapshot Storage tab of the Virtual Disk Properties dialog box, text should indicate that the value of the Use Limit field should be a minimum of 300 MB.

  • On the Description page, there should be a label for the Virtual Disk Description field that describes the appropriate descriptions that a user can select for this field.

  • The Create Target Wizard allows a user to attempt to create a iSCSI Software Target that already exists.

    A user cannot create a target with the same name as an existing target. However, when prompted for a new target name, the Create Target Wizard does not validate whether the target name already exists. Instead the Create Target Wizard continues through the target creation process, and then fails when it attempts to save a target without a unique name. The Create Target Wizard should warn a user that the new target name already exists and a new target cannot be created with this name.

  • The VHD Import Wizard allows a user to attempt to import a VHD that is in use.

    A user cannot import a VHD that is currently in use. However, the VHD Import Wizard does not verify if the VHD is being used. Instead the VHD Import Wizard continues through the importation process, and it ultimately fails when it attempts to use the imported VHD. The VHD Import Wizard should warn a user that the VHD is in use and it cannot be imported.

  • The Scheduling Properties window accepts values that are wrong.

    A user cannot set a value of 0 minutes for the When Idle property of a task in the Scheduled Task field. If a user enters 0 for this field, the When Idle field value automatically sets to 10. The When Idle input box should prevent a value of 0 from being entered or display an error message stating that 0 minutes is not an acceptable value and that the default minimum setting (10 minutes) is used instead.

  • Schedule Snapshot Wizard pages do not validate against improper input and do not return meaning errors.

    Several Schedule Snapshot Wizard pages (specifically the Daily Schedule, Weekly Schedule, and Monthly Schedule pages) allow the user to input wrong values (for example, the Weekly Schedule field allows a user to enable a snapshot creation in week 53 of the year). There are no meaningful error messages returned when wrong values are input for snapshot creation.

  • The Schedule tab of the Properties dialog box for the ISCSI Software Target management console erroneously exposes the Select Months dialog box.

    When the Schedule tab of the Properties dialog box for the ISCSI Software Target management console is visible, a user can inadvertently expose the Select Months dialog box. This occurs if a user moves through the exposed controls and inadvertently stops on the hidden Select Months button. To resolve this issue, a user should click Cancel to close the erroneous dialog box.

  • Changing the name of an iSCSI Software Target to an existing iSCSI Software Target generates an error message and improperly closes the ISCSI Software Target Properties dialog box.

    A user cannot rename an iSCSI Software Target to an existing iSCSI Software Target name. If this is attempted, the Properties dialog box of the iSCSI Software Target management console should display an error message that states this action cannot be performed. The Properties dialog should remain visible so that the user can edit the name of the iSCSI Software Target so that the name is unique.

  • At high screen resolutions, it is difficult to navigate the ICT window.

    If an end user sets the screen resolution of their storage device to high DPI values (for example, 144 DPI [1600x1200] or 196 DPI [2500x1600]) and then minimizes the ICT window, the ICT window fails to display properly, making it difficult to use when they configure their storage device.

    To resolve this issue, the end user must set the screen resolution during storage appliance setup to a resolution of 1024 X 768 or lower.