How to Add Windows File Server Shares in VMM
Updated: May 13, 2016
Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager
Use the following procedure to add remote Windows-based file servers as storage devices in Virtual Machine Manager (VMM).
Account requirements To complete this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrator user role or a member of the Delegated Administrator user role.
Before you begin this procedure, you can create a Run As account before or while you use the Add Storage Devices Wizard to discover storage. The Run As account must have administrator permissions on the file server. VMM uses this account to perform administrative operations, for example, to create shares and to modify share permissions on the server. For more information about Run As accounts, see How to Create a Run As Account in VMM.
Adding the file server
When you add a file server, VMM automatically discovers all the shares that are currently present on the server.
To add a file server
Open the Fabric workspace.
In the Fabric pane, click Storage.
On the Home tab, click Add Resources, and then click Storage Devices to start the Add Storage Devices Wizard.
On the Select Provider Type page, select Add a Windows-based file server as managed storage device to manage a single or clustered file server in the VMM console.
On the Specify Discovery Scope page, do the following:
In the Provider IP address or FQDN box, specify the address or name of the file server.
If the file server resides in a domain that is not trusted by the domain in which the virtual machine hosts are located, select This computer is in an untrusted Active Directory domain. The virtual machine hosts use the file server storage.
Next to the Run As account box, click Browse, and select a Run As account that can access the storage provider. If you do not have an account. click Browse, and then, in the Select a Run As Account dialog box, click Create Run As Account.
On the Gather Information page, VMM automatically tries to discover and import information about the shares on the file server. If the discovery process succeeds, information about the file server is displayed. When the process finishes, click Next.
On the Select Storage Devices page, select the check box next to a file share that you want VMM to manage.
On the Summary page, confirm the settings, and then click Finish.
The Jobs dialog box appears. Ensure that the job has a status of Completed, and then close the dialog box.
To verify the newly discovered storage information, in the Fabric workspace, on the Home tab, click Fabric Resources. In the Fabric pane, expand the Storage node.
After adding and discovering the file server storage, you can assign SMB 3.0 file shares to hosts and host clusters. For more information, see How to Assign SMB 3.0 File Shares to Hyper-V Hosts and Clusters in VMM.
See Also