Working with volume, mirror, or stripe sets or stripe sets with parity

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Working with volume, mirror, or stripe sets or stripe sets with parity

With the disk management technologies in Windows NT 4.0, you could create volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity, each with specific capabilities and limitations. By using the dynamic disk technology introduced with Windows 2000, you can use similar technologies, with the added flexibility of being able to extend disk volumes without repartitioning or reformatting.

This transition from the technologies used in Windows NT 4.0 means that you must make certain choices before running Setup for Windows Server 2003. Any volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity that you created with Windows NT 4.0 are not supported in the Windows Server 2003 operating systems, although they were supported to a limited extent in Windows 2000.

If you used Windows NT 4.0 to create a volume set, mirror set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity, and you want to run Setup for Windows Server 2003 on that computer, you must choose one of the following methods.

For information about other preparations to make before running Setup, see Checklists for installing and upgrading the operating system and Preparing Your System Before Running Setup.

• For a mirror set, break the mirror
  If you are running Windows NT 4.0 on a computer that has a mirror set and you want to run Setup for Windows Server 2003 on that computer, first back up the data (as a safeguard-the data will not be erased) and then break the mirror. Ensure that you have applied Service Pack 5 or later, required before running Setup for Windows Server 2003. Then run Setup.

• For a volume set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity, back up the data and delete the set
  If you are running Windows NT 4.0 on a computer that has a volume set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity, and you want to run Setup for Windows Server 2003 operating systems on that computer, first back up the data. Next, delete the set (which will delete the data). Ensure that you have applied Service Pack 5 or later, required before running Setup for Windows Server 2003. Then run Setup. After running Setup for Windows Server 2003, you can make the disk dynamic, restore backed-up data as necessary, and make use of the volume options shown in the table later in this section. For more information about dynamic disks, see Dynamic disks and volumes and Using Dynamic Disks.

• If necessary, use the Ftonline support tool
  The preceding methods are the recommended methods for preparing to run Setup for Windows Server 2003 on a computer that contains a volume set, mirror set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity created with Windows NT 4.0. However, if you do not use these methods and you must access one of these sets after running Setup for Windows Server 2003, you can use the Ftonline tool. The Ftonline tool is part of the Windows Server 2003 family Support Tools. For more information, see Install Windows Support Tools.

Types of multidisk volumes on dynamic disks

The disk sets described in the previous section have different names in the Windows Server 2003 family than they had in Windows NT 4.0:

Windows NT 4.0 name	Windows Server 2003 family name
Volume set	Spanned volume on a dynamic disk
Mirror set	Mirrored volume on a dynamic disk
Stripe set	Striped volume on a dynamic disk
Stripe set with parity	RAID-5 volume on a dynamic disk