(S2D) Deploy Storage Spaces Direct

Step 1: Deploy Windows Server

Step 1.1: Install the operating system

Step 1.2: Connect to the servers

Step 1.3: Join the domain and add domain accounts

Step 1.4: Install roles and features

 

Step 2: Configure the network

Step 3: Configure Storage Spaces Direct

Step 3.1: Clean drives

# Fill in these variables with your values
$ServerList = "Server01", "Server02", "Server03", "Server04"

foreach ($server in $serverlist) {
    Invoke-Command ($server) {
        # Check for the Azure Temporary Storage volume
        $azTempVolume = Get-Volume -FriendlyName "Temporary Storage" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        If ($azTempVolume) {
            $azTempDrive = (Get-Partition -DriveLetter $azTempVolume.DriveLetter).DiskNumber
        }

# Clear and reset the disks
        $disks = Get-Disk | Where-Object {
            ($_.Number -ne $null -and $_.Number -ne $azTempDrive -and !$_.IsBoot -and !$_.IsSystem -and $_.PartitionStyle -ne "RAW")
        }
        $disks | ft Number,FriendlyName,OperationalStatus
        If ($disks) {
            Write-Host "This action will permanently remove any data on any drives other than the operating system boot drive!`nReset disks? (Y/N)"
            $response = read-host
            if ( $response.ToLower() -ne "y" ) { exit }

$disks | % {
            $_ | Set-Disk -isoffline:$false
            $_ | Set-Disk -isreadonly:$false
            $_ | Clear-Disk -RemoveData -RemoveOEM -Confirm:$false -verbose
            $_ | Set-Disk -isreadonly:$true
            $_ | Set-Disk -isoffline:$true
        }

#Get-PhysicalDisk | Reset-PhysicalDisk

}
        Get-Disk | Where-Object {
            ($_.Number -ne $null -and $_.Number -ne $azTempDrive -and !$_.IsBoot -and !$_.IsSystem -and $_.PartitionStyle -eq "RAW")
        } | Group -NoElement -Property FriendlyName
    }
}

 

Step 3.2: Validate the cluster

Test-Cluster -Node <MachineName1, MachineName2, MachineName3, MachineName4> -Include "Storage Spaces Direct", "Inventory", "Network", "System Configuration"

Step 3.3: Create the cluster

New-Cluster -Name <ClusterName> -Node <MachineName1,MachineName2,MachineName3,MachineName4> -NoStorage

Step 3.4: Configure a cluster witness

Step 3.5: Enable Storage Spaces Direct

Enable-ClusterStorageSpacesDirect

That command reaches out to all other cluster nodes, discovers their locally attached disks, and forms a single, unified storage pool.

📌 Cluster-awareness is built in — Enable-ClusterStorageSpacesDirect communicates with all nodes via the cluster service and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

When you run Enable-ClusterStorageSpacesDirect, the system:
- Scans all cluster nodes,
- Identifies eligible disks (usually non-OS, raw),
- Creates one distributed storage pool,
- And marks it as cluster-wide.

Step 3.6: Create volumes

New-Volume -StoragePoolFriendlyName "S2D*" -FriendlyName Volume01 -FileSystem CSVFS_ReFS -Size 8500GB

The New-Volume cmdlet:
- Creates a virtual disk inside the S2D pool,
- Formats it with CSVFS_ReFS (Cluster Shared Volumes File System),
- Automatically adds it to Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV),
- Makes it available to all nodes in the cluster.

Step 3.7: Optionally enable the CSV cache

Step 3.8: Deploy virtual machines for hyper-converged deployments

 

 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-spaces/deploy-storage-spaces-direct