Merge pull request #278171 from sindamnataraj/main

Replace drive

Author: JamesJBarnett

articles/storage/file-sync/file-sync-replace-drive.md

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+---
+title: Replace a drive on an Azure File Sync server
+description: How to replace a drive on an Azure File Sync server due to hardware decommissioning, optimization or end of support. 
+author: sindamnataraj
+ms.service: azure-file-storage
+ms.topic: how-to
+ms.date: 06/13/2024
+ms.author: nasindam
+---
+
+# Replace a drive on an Azure File Sync server
+
+This article explains how to replace an existing drive that hosts one or more Azure File Sync server endpoints, either on an on-premises Windows Server or on a virtual machine (VM) in the cloud. This could be because the drive is failing, or because you want to optimize and balance resources by using a different size or type of drive. Some of the steps will differ slightly depending on whether your Azure File Sync registered server is located on-premises or in Azure.
+
+> [!Important]
+> Replacing a drive always involves some amount of downtime for users. We recommend following the steps in this article. If you simply recreate the drive and restart the storage sync service without first deleting the server endpoints, then the server will automatically throw away the sync database.
+
+
+## Step 1: Create a temporary VM with new server endpoints
+
+Create a temporary VM (Server B) that's as close as possible to your registered server (Server A). If your registered server is on-premises, create a VM on premises. If your registered server is in the cloud, create a VM in the cloud, preferably in the same region as your registered server.
+
+Then, [create the server endpoints](file-sync-server-endpoint-create.md) on Server B. Enable cloud tiering. Temporarily set the volume free space policy to 99% in order to tier as many files as possible to the cloud.
+
+
+## Step 2: Copy data to the temporary VM
+
+Use Robocopy, an SMB copy utility that's built into Windows, to copy the data from Server A to Server B. Run the following command from the Windows command line on Server A.
+
+```console
+robocopy <Server A SourcePath> <Server B Dest.Path> /MT:16 /R:2 /W:1 /COPYALL /MIR /DCOPY:DAT /XA:O /B /IT /UNILOG:RobocopyLog.txt
+```
+
+## Step 3: Transition users to the temporary VM
+
+Removing user access to your server endpoints will cause downtime. To minimize downtime, perform these steps as quickly as possible.
+1.	Remove SMB access to the server endpoints on Server A. Don't delete the server endpoints yet.
+2.	On Server A, change the startup type of the Storage Sync Agent Service from Automatic to Disabled, and then put it in the Stopped state.
+3.	Run Robocopy again to copy any changes that happened since the last run. From Server A, run:
+   
+    ```console
+  	robocopy <SourcePath> <Dest.Path> /MT:16 /R:2 /W:1 /COPYALL /MIR /DCOPY:DAT /XA:O /B /IT /UNILOG:RobocopyLog.txt
+    ```
+5.	Enable SMB access to the server endpoints on Server B.
+Users should now be able to access the file share from the temporary VM (Server B).
+
+## Step 4: Delete old server endpoints and replace drive
+
+When you're sure that user access is restored, [delete the server endpoints](file-sync-server-endpoint-delete.md) and replace the drive on Server A. Make sure the drive letter of the replaced drive is the same as it was before the replacement.
+
+## Step 5: Create new server endpoints and copy data to the new drive
+
+Re-create the server endpoints on Server A. Enable cloud tiering. Temporarily set the volume free space policy to 99% in order to tier as many files as possible to the cloud.
+
+Use Robocopy to copy the data to the new drive on Server A. Run the following command from the Windows command line on Server B.
+
+```console
+robocopy <Server B SourcePath> <Server A Dest.Path> /MT:16 /R:2 /W:1 /COPYALL /MIR /DCOPY:DAT /XA:O /B /IT /UNILOG:RobocopyLog.txt
+```
+
+## Step 6: Restore user access to registered server
+
+Removing user access to your server endpoints on the temporary VM will cause downtime. To minimize downtime, perform these steps as quickly as possible.
+
+1.	Remove SMB access to the server endpoints on Server B. Don't delete the server endpoints yet.
+2.	Run Robocopy again to copy any changes that happened since the last run. From Server B, run:
+   
+    ```console
+  	robocopy <SourcePath> <Dest.Path> /MT:16 /R:2 /W:1 /COPYALL /MIR /DCOPY:DAT /XA:O /B /IT /UNILOG:RobocopyLog.txt
+    ```
+3.	On Server A, change the startup type of the Storage Sync Agent Service from Disabled to Automatic, and then put it in the Started state.
+4.	Enable SMB access to the server endpoints on Server A.
+5.	Sign into the Azure portal. Navigate to the sync group and verify that the cloud endpoint is syncing to the server endpoint(s) on Server A.
+Users should now be able to access the file share from your registered server. Remember to change your volume free space policy to a reasonable level such as 10-20%.