Disk Drives and Storage Options

Most desktop and laptop computers have one physical hard disk, configured as a single volume (commonly referred to as “the C: drive”), upon which everything is stored. However, in a server there is usually a need for a greater amount of storage, plus that storage also has to be very reliable. Performance becomes a consideration too, as many people may be accessing the server simultaneously. The way to address these issues is by using multiple hard drives and to configure them in special ways. There is no single one-size-fits-all solution here, as it depends upon the size, requirements and budget of the organization. The options are reviewed below.

Single Drive System 

A server in a very small business environment may only have a single physical hard drive. In such a case, it should be divided into two volumes: a volume on which the operating system is installed (the C: drive) and a volume on which the organization’s data is stored (the D: drive). The rationale here is that if the operating system ever needs to be reinstalled or upgraded, then it can be done without directly affecting the data. The C: volume does not need to be huge – 60GB to 100GB is quite adequate and the remainder of the drive should be partitioned as the D: drive. The major downside to a single drive system is that in the event of it failing then the server will be out of action until it can be replaced, plus the associated risk of data loss is high. 

Twin Disk Drives 

A very natural solution for Essentials is to have two hard drives in the server, one for the operating system and one for the data. The first one can be quite small; at the time of writing, the smallest readily available drives are 160GB, which is ideal. The second drive, for the data, can be as large as you want. This arrangement gives some performance benefits, as the drives operate independently, sharing the workload, plus the operating system and data are quite separate, which facilitates reinstallations and upgrades. However, it still does not address the issue of reliability or protection.