In this step by step tutorial, you will be learning about How to Configure Disk Quota using File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) on Windows Server 2019.

What is the File Server Resource Manager?

File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) is a role service in Windows Server that enables to control and manage the quantity and type of data stored on a file server. You can use FSRM to automatically classify files, perform tasks based on these classifications, set quotas on folders, and create reports monitoring storage usage.

File Server Resource Manager includes the following features:

  • Quota management
  • File Classification Infrastructure
  • File screening management
  • Storage reports

What is Quota Management?

By using Quota management, you can limit the amount of disk space allocated to a volume or folder. Quotas can be created from a template or with custom properties.

There are two kinds of quotas: soft quotas and hard quotas.

  1. Hard Quota: A hard quota prevents users from saving files after the space limit is reached and generates notifications when the volume of data reaches the configured threshold.
  2. Soft Quota: A soft quota does not enforce the quota limit but generates a notification when the configured threshold is met.

Test lab setup:

  • WS2K19-DC01: Domain Controller and DNS.
  • WS2K19-FS01: File Server.
  • WS10-CLI01: Windows 10 Client Machine.

Install FSRM role on the file server:

1. Open Server Manager Console.

1. Open Server Manager Console

2. At the top of the Server Manager, click on Manage and select Add Roles and Features.

2. Click on Manage

3. On the Before you begin page, click Next.

3. Click Next on Before You Begin Console

4. Select Role-based or feature-based installation and then click Next.

4. Choose Role-based Installation

5. Click Select a server from the server pool, click the name of the server to install FSRM to, and then click Next.

5. Select the server to install fsrm role

6. Expand File and Storage Services and expand the File and iSCSI Services. Select File Server Resource Manager.

6. Select File Server Resource Manager role

7. A new window will pop up, click on Add Features to include required features and management tools.

7. Click on Add features required by fsrm

8. Click Next.

8. Make sure File Server and FSRM are selected

9. On select features page, click Next.

9. Click Next on Select Features

10. Click on Install to start the installation process.

10. Click on Install to start the process

11. When the installation is complete, click the Close button.

11. Click on Close after installation completes

Note: Already I have created one shared folder on our file server for the testing purpose. We will apply disk quota on that shared folder.

Create a Quota Template:

12. Click on Tools and select File Server Resource Manager.

12. Open File Server Resource Manager Console

13. On File Server Resource Manager console, expand quota management. Right-click on Quota Templates and select Create Quota Template.

13. Select Create a Quota Template

14.  In the Template name text box, type a name for a new quota template. Add a description if you want.

14. Type Template Name and Description

15. Under Space Limit:

  • In the Limit text box, enter a number and choose a unit (KB, MB, GB, or TB) to specify the space limit for the quota.
  • Choose the Hard quota or Soft quota option.
15. Specify disk space limit

16. To set up a notification threshold, click the Add button.

16. Click on Add to add threshold limit

17. In the Generate notifications when usage reaches (%) text box, enter a percentage of the quota limit for the notification threshold.

18. On the Event Log tab, select the Send warning to the event log checkbox.

17. Set threshold limit and select send warning to event log

19. Click OK to save your notification threshold.

18. Click on OK

20. Click OK to close the Create Quota Template dialog box.

19. Click on OK to close the console

Note: Verify new quota template exists in File Server Resource Manager console

20. Verify new quota template exists on console

Create a Quota using an existing Quota Template:

21. Right-click on Quota and select Create Quota.

21. Select Create New Disk Quota

22. Browse the volume or folder that the quota applies to in the Quota path.

22. Type or browse the folder path

23. Under Derive properties from this quota template, select the template which we have created earlier.

23. Choose Quota Template

24. Click Create.

24. Click on Create button

Verify quota entry in FSRM console.

25. Verify Disk Quota entry on console

How to test Quota with FSRM?

25. On Windows 10 client machine, access the shared folder. Copy some data to the folder for testing purposes.

26. Copy some data to test disk quota

26. On a File server, open event viewer.

27. Look for the event ID  12325 (SRMSVC). Warning about user exceeded the disk quota threshold.

27. Check for Event Log for fsrm disk quota

28. If a user tries to store more data then, he/she will receive the following error.

28. There is not enough space Error

In this post, we have learned the steps to configure disk quota using file server resource manager in Windows Server 2019.

Hope this will be helpful. Thank you for reading.

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