File Server Resource Manager on Windows Server 2022

In Windows Server 2022, File Server Resource Manager is the feature available to system administrators that gives the ability to set quotas and limit the types of files that can be saved to a file server.

File Server Resource Manager was initially released by Microsoft in 2005 for Windows Server 2003 to offer administrators greater control than the default Windows Explorer.

File Server Resource Manager’s Five Main Features

Quota Management

• Limit the allowed space on folders and volumes.
• Define quota templates on folders and volumes.

File Classification Infrastructure

• Manage data effectively with automated classification.
• Automatically or manually update selected folder or file properties.
• Some policy examples would be file expirations, file encryption, and restricting access with dynamic access control.

File Management Tasks

• Application of actions or conditional policies depending on file classification.
  • Conditions can include: Location
  • Classification properties
  • Creation date
  • Date last modified
  • Date last accessed
  • File management tasks can: Run custom commands
  • Run file encryption
  • File expiration

File Screening Management

• Controls types of files that can be stored on the file server.
• Limit file extensions, for example, block MP3 files from being saved to the server.

Storage Reports

• Identify disk usage trends.
• Monitor selected users attempting to save unauthorized files.

All these features can be configured via the graphical interface or via PowerShell.

File Server Resource Manager Examples

• Allow or deny access based on the location of data on the file server.
• Expire files that have not been modified in a specified time.
• Create quotas with warnings when a specified percentage of storage has been used.
• Scheduled reporting on usage.
• Prevent specified file types from being saved to shared locations.
• Classify data with multiple identifiers.

File Server Resource Manager Advantages

Advanced Quota Management

File Server Resource Manager offers centralized quota management for volumes, folders, and files. Multiple quotas can be applied to different paths within a volume. Quota templates assist to simplify management of both soft and hard quotas.

Content Regulation

In addition to managing quotas, there is a need to regulate the types of files that can be stored on file shares. This could be in the form of blocking executables that could contain malicious code, blocking content that could infringe on copyrights, or even specifying file extensions such as allowing only *.docx and blocking *.doc.

Reports On Utilization of Storage

File Server Resource Manager is currently able to generate the below reports:

• Location of files
• File duplication
• Last accessed date
• Last modified date
• File types
• Properties of files
• Properties of folders
• Least accessed files
• Recently accessed files
• Quota usage

Easy File Location

Files can be sorted in a wide variety of ways, for example, name, time created, properties, etc

File Server Resource Manager Installation

The File Server Resource Manager can be installed via the Graphical User Interface (GUI) installation or PowerShell.

PowerShell Installation

Open PowerShell, and enter the below command to install the File Server Resource Manager:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name FS-Resource-Manager, RSAT-FSRM-Mgmt

No reboot is necessary after installing this feature.

Graphical User Interface Installation

Follow the below steps to install via the GUI:

Open the Server Manager.
Click “Manage.”

Next, click “Add Roles and Features.”

If prompted with the “Before You Begin” screen, click “Next.”

Then select “Role-based or feature-based installation” and click “Next.”

Select the server where the feature will be installed and click “Next.”

Expand “Select Server Roles,” then expand “File and Storage Services.”

Now expand “File and iSCSI Services.”

Select the “File Server Resource Manager” and click “Next.”

Select “Add Features”

Click “Next.”

Start the installation process by clicking “Install.”

Once complete, select “Close.”

File Server Resource Manager is now installed.

Template Creation

Quotas setting requires a template to be created. This template can be custom or from a predefined template within the File Server Resource Manager.

Quotas management can be simplified by changing templates. In addition, centralizing control of quotas makes enforcement of storage policy rules easy.

To create a quota template:

Open the File Server Resource Manager.
Expand the “Quota Management” in the left-hand pane.

Right-click “Quota Templates.”

Select “Create Quota Template.”

Mandatory fields for creating a template are the name, space limit, and selecting either a hard or soft quota.

Hard quotas will not allow users to exceed the limits.
Soft quotas will allow users to exceed limits but will produce a warning.

To set threshold notifications, select “Add.”
Configure the options.
Select “OK.”

Quota Creation

After setting up the quota template or using a default quota template, create the quota.

Quota creation steps:

Right-click on the File Server Resource Manager’s dashboard “Quotas.”
Select “Create Quota.”
On the “Create Quota” window, in the “Quota path” section, select “Browse.”

Browse to the path that requires quota enablement

Select “Create quota on the path” or “Auto apply template and create quotas on existing and new subfolders…” option.

To only apply a quota to the top-level folder, select the first option.
To apply the quota to a folder and all subfolders, select the second option.

Select “Derive properties from this quota template”.
Select the previously created template.
Select “Create.”

File Server Resource Manager’s dashboard will show the new quota where limits are applied.

File Screening Configuration

To create a file screening template, select “Action.”

Next, select “Create File Screen Template.”

In the new window that opens up, configure the desired options and click “OK.”

Report Generation

File Server Resource Manager allows a variety of reports to be generated.
For example, disk usage or monitoring groups of users to check for non-compliance.

To create reports:

Select “Storage Reports Management.”

Click “Action.”

Choose “Schedule a New Report Task.”

Create a unique name for the report.

Select the desired information the report should contain.

Choose a file format to save the output to.

Click “OK.”

Conclusion

The above examples will give you a good starting point to manage your Microsoft Windows Server 2022 storage. Once you are comfortable with these, explore more advanced options such as file classification.