Windows 2000 Advanced Server...

[imported_goku]

I noticed that when I added my new 300GB drive, I saw that there was a feature that I could instead of assign it a drive letter, make it into a folder of another drive, is this true?

 

[RebateMonger]

You can certainly do this in Server 2000 and Server 2003. It's called "Volume Mounting" to a folder.
It's done in the Disk Management area of the Computer Management Control Panel.

1) Right-click on the new Volume and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths....".
2) Pick the folder where you want to mount the new Volume.

 

[imported_goku]

I feel as though there are TONS of features in windows 2000 advanced server that I don't know about that I feel I may find to be of great use to me..

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: goku
I feel as though there are TONS of features in windows 2000 advanced server that I don't know about that I feel I may find to be of great use to me..

It's funny. I've probably read, literally, ten thousand pages of technical manuals on Windows Server 2003, and I STILL get surprised by some features that I've missed. Same with XP.

 

[RedCOMET]

What is the advantage of VOLUME MOUNTING compared to not doing it?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: RedCOMET
What is the advantage of VOLUME MOUNTING compared to not doing it?

It's mostly a user-friendliness issue. Instead of making users navigate to a new drive, you just tell them, "Hey. We've set up a new folder for you to save stuff in." It's easier to save to a new folder than it is to navigate all the way to a whole new drive and then navigate a new directory structure.

They don't have to know that the new folder is a brand-new 300 GB SCSI array.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: goku
I feel as though there are TONS of features in windows 2000 advanced server that I don't know about that I feel I may find to be of great use to me..

It's funny. I've probably read, literally, ten thousand pages of technical manuals on Windows Server 2003, and I STILL get surprised by some features that I've missed. Same with XP.

Win2003 will automatically update your Boot.ini with a secondary ARC path if you mirror a drive.

whodathunk.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: RedCOMET
What is the advantage of VOLUME MOUNTING compared to not doing it?

Advantages:
Expand a drive, but without much increased chance of failure. If you lose a drive that's mounted as a folder the main drive doesn't get wiped as a spanned volume would.

Disadvantages:
The drive space you are adding is confined to a single folder. The main drive can fill up with tons of spare space left within one folder.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: RedCOMET
Disadvantages:
The drive space you are adding is confined to a single folder. The main drive can fill up with tons of spare space left within one folder.

You can still add sub-folders inside the "virtual folder".

Or you could partition the new disk into multiple "drives" and mount THOSE at different places in your current directory. That would, again, let you add BIG new folders to a directory structure, without making users navigate to a whole new drive just to get to those new, larger, folders.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: RedCOMET
Disadvantages:
The drive space you are adding is confined to a single folder. The main drive can fill up with tons of spare space left within one folder.

You can still add sub-folders inside the "virtual folder".

Or you could partition the new disk into multiple "drives" and mount THOSE at different places in your current directory. That would, again, let you add BIG new folders to a directory structure, without making users navigate to a whole new drive just to get to those new, larger, folders.

When you mount a drive as a "folder" and then you take the drive out of the computer and put it into another computer, what will happen!?

 

[Nothinman]

When you mount a drive as a "folder" and then you take the drive out of the computer and put it into another computer, what will happen!?

Same thing that would happen if it was assigned a drive letter, the parent directory will still exist but the data will be gone.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

When you mount a drive as a "folder" and then you take the drive out of the computer and put it into another computer, what will happen!?

Same thing that would happen if it was assigned a drive letter, the parent directory will still exist but the data will be gone.

So you're saying that if the drive I removed (the folder drive I'll call it) is attempted to be read in another computer, there will be no data!?

 

[Nothinman]

So you're saying that if the drive I removed (the folder drive I'll call it) is attempted to be read in another computer, there will be no data!?

No, it'll read fine just as if it had a regular drive letter in the original machine. There is absolutely no difference between mounting a volume as d: or c:\blah. I meant that once you remove the drive c:\blah will still exist, but will be empty.