Storage Replica is a new Windows Server technology that allows you to replicate the content of your volumes between servers or clusters for disaster recovery. It was introduced on Windows Server 2016.
This is a data replication technology that copies data between the two Windows Servers at the block level.
Synchronous replication mirrors data within a low-latency network site with crash-consistent volumes to ensure zero data loss at the file-system level during a failure.
Asynchronous replication mirrors data across sites beyond metropolitan ranges over network links with higher latencies, but without a guarantee that both sites have identical copies of the data at the time of a failure
Storage Replica prerequisites
- Active Directory Domain Services forest
- Storage Spaces, Storage Spaces Direct, fibre channel SAN, shared VHDX, iSCSI Target, or local SAS/SCSI/SATA storage. (Log volumes must never be used for other workloads)
- At least one ethernet/TCP connection on each server for synchronous replication
- Windows Server, Datacenter Edition, or Windows Server, Standard Edition. Storage Replica running on Windows Server, Standard Edition
DFSR vs Windows Storage Replication
Windows Storage Replication Configuration
Install the Storage Replica feature from the Server Add Roles and Features wizard
Configuration Details
Source Computer : DFS1
Source Replication Group Name : RG01
Source Data volume : E Drive
Source Log Drive : L
Destination Computer Name : DFS2
Destination Replication Group Name : RG02
Destination Data Volume : E
Destination Log Volume : L
Once the Storage Replica installation is complete, configure the replication between the servers.
Storage replication can be configured and managed from the Windows PowerShell. Windows Storage replication can be managed from the Windows Admin Center console also.
Verify the configuration from the source server
Destination Server
ReplicationMode : Synchronous
IsPrimary : False – it is a passive server, data replicating to this server from the source
The destination Server E:\ Drive (Data replication drive) will be lock mode
DFS share is configured with shared namespace and it accessible from the source server (DFS1 server)
Now make the DFS2 server as active and DFS1 will be passive. DFS1 data drive (E:\drive) will be locked mode. DFS2 IsPrimary changed to True
All Data available in DFS2 server and accessible from the client system
Storage Replica is a great new feature found starting in Windows Server 2016. Without the need for any third-party hardware solution or vendor-specific solution, Windows Server is now able to replicate your data synchronously or asynchronously as needed between two Windows Servers by means of Storage Replica.