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So one of the things that comes with network attached storage is copying data, it might be because you’re allocating a new D drive which has double the space, or migrating data from one filer to the other.
The key things to watch out for are:
So say you’ve got 100gb to copy the time taken to copy this data will depend on a few factors, how busy your network is, what speed it is, but more importantly, how fragmented the disk is, how many files there are and in how many folders and sub folders, crucially their size.
Windows is rather shocking at handling large numbers of small 1k files, particularly if they are all in sub folders d:\data\folder1\folder1.1\folder1.1.1/folder1.111 etc, also
So let’s do the basics, when presented with a new volume, format the disk taking a close look at the cluster size when formatting it, if you know the volume is going to be mainly small 1k files, then set the cluster size to 1k, if it’s going to be sql, you might want to select a larger cluster size – Microsoft covers all this anyway.
Log on to either the server you’re copying from or the server you’re copying too: (if using terminal services remember timeout settings might apply)
Map a drive to the server you need to copy to:
Make sure all the paths are correct then run your robocopy:
Run a test at a convenient time and see how long it takes, 100gb can take anything from a few hours to a few days dependent on the number, size of files, if you’ve got compression turned on and if the drive is fragmented.
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5 Comments
There are much easier ways without additional drive mappings. All you need is a gui tool where you can browse for target and source like in exporer. My suggestion for you is secure copy. I’ve already migrated and transferred hundreds gigabytes of data with this tool. This solution has a lot of useful features for controlling and streamlining the copying process. For example, it retains compression settings and security information like permissions and shares.
Thanks Jack, I’ll need to check out secure copy. If anyone else has experience/ideas, let me know!
RobocopyGUI
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc160891.aspx
for those that aren’t fans of command lines
Thanks ST2 – that’s great!
RobocopyGUI
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc1...
for those that aren't fans of command lines