Windows server replication monitor

Always remember to elevate your PowerShell and CMD prompts going forward when running on a graphical server installation or on a Windows 10 computer. Restart nodes as needed. Consult your hardware vendor documentation for configuring shared storage and networking hardware.

Ensure power management in Windows Server is set to High Performance. Restart as required. Install the File Server and Storage Replica roles and features on each of the nodes and restart them.

On SR-SRV06 or a remote management computer, run the following command in a Windows PowerShell console to install the required features and roles and restart them:. Ensure that each server can see that site's storage enclosures only and that the SAS connections are correctly configured. Ensure that each cluster can see that site's storage enclosures only. You should use more than one single network adapter if using iSCSI. Provision the storage using your vendor documentation.

Ensure that each cluster can see that site's storage enclosures only and that you have properly zoned the hosts. You can use the cmdlet in a requirements-only mode for a quick test as well as a long running performance evaluation mode. For example, to validate the proposed nodes that each have a F: and G: volume and run the test for 30 minutes:. When using a test server with no write IO load on the specified source volume during the evaluation period, consider adding a workload or it will not generate a useful report.

You should test with production-like workloads in order to see real numbers and recommended log sizes. For instance, a sample with a low write IO workload for ten minutes to the D: volume:.

Examine the TestSrTopologyReport. Select New to create a new partnership. To create a new Azure VM to use as the destination for the partnership:. Provide the details of the partnership, and then select Create as shown in Figure 3. Removing the partnership from Storage Replica in Windows Admin Center doesn't remove the replication group name. Now you will configure server-to-server replication using Windows PowerShell.

You must perform all of the steps below on the nodes directly or from a remote management computer that contains the Windows Server Remote Server Administration Tools. Configure the server-to-server replication, specifying the source and destination disks, the source and destination logs, the source and destination nodes, and the log size.

The default log size is 8GB. On the source server, run the following command and examine events , , , , , and On the destination server, run the following command to see the Storage Replica events that show creation of the partnership. This event states the number of copied bytes and the time taken. Storage Replica dismounts the destination volumes and their drive letters or mount points.

This is by design. Alternatively, the destination server group for the replica states the number of byte remaining to copy at all times, and can be queried through PowerShell. For example:. On the destination server, run the following command and examine events , , , , , and to understand the processing progress.

There should be no warnings of errors in this sequence. There will be many events; these indicate progress. Now you will manage and operate your server-to-server replicated infrastructure. You can perform all of the steps below on the nodes directly or from a remote management computer that contains the Windows Server Remote Server Administration Tools. To measure replication performance, use the Get-Counter cmdlet on both the source and destination nodes. The counter names are:.

Windows Server prevents role switching when the initial sync is ongoing, as it can lead to data loss if you attempt to switch before allowing initial replication to complete. Don't force switch directions until the initial sync is complete. Check the event logs to see the direction of replication change and recovery mode occur, and then reconcile. Write IOs can then write to the storage owned by the new source server.

Changing the replication direction will block write IOs on the previous source computer. FRS logs can also be examined to expose some useful configuration changes and actual replication information. The Ntfrsapi. The X is a sequential number that increments when the existing log file fills up and a new log file is created. When all five replication log files fill up, the first log file is overwritten with newer events.

After modifying Registry settings, you will need to restart FRS to make these changes effective. Try reducing this value to reduce the log message detail. This will cause only the more important messages such as errors and warnings to be logged. It is not uncommon for FRS replication to fail due to reasons such as failed RPC connections to the destination server DNS resolution, slow network, firewall blocking , and lack of free space on the source server, necessary for staging. Using replmon, you can diagnose FSMO role problems as well as verify name resolution, connectivity, and binding for each of the five FSMO servers as applicable to the domain of the particular server that you are viewing.

In addition to FSMO, other useful troubleshooting information is presented, such as. Replmon utility from Windows Server Support Tools. One of the key functionalities of replmon is its ability to generate detailed reports. You can customize the components that should be included every time you generate a status report.

In the Edit menu, select Add Monitored Server. You will be presented with a wizard, which should help in locating the server you wish to add. Instead of typing in the name of the server, you might want to choose "Search the directory for the server to add" and pick a server from the list of sites and servers.