The NAS server supports SMB3 functionality for Microsoft Hyper-V over SMB shares, including transparent failover, continuous availability, and shadow copies.
- Continuous Availability: Enables files that are opened using SMB3 on a continuously available share to survive network failures or cluster node failures. For example, if one cluster node fails, the client transparently reconnects to another cluster node without interruption to the client applications.
If a continuously available share is changed from a cluster to a single server, and then back to a cluster, the server keeps the continuous availability of the share.
Note: Continuous Availability can impact SMB performance and should only be enabled where it is required, such as with Microsoft Hyper-V or Microsoft SQL Server. When this feature is in use, it is also recommended that the Administrator disables DDNS on the server. - Persistent file handles: Enables clients to transparently reconnect to disconnected SMB sessions. A persistent handle is preserved after a disconnection and blocks any attempts to open files while it waits for the client to reconnect.
- VSS for SMB file shares: The File Server Remote VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) Protocol (FSRVP) is a protocol for Windows Server 2012 that creates shadow copies of file shares on a remote computer. This protocol is most commonly deployed with Hyper-V and enables backup applications to create application-consistent backup and restore of VSS-aware applications storing data on network file shares.
- Service Witness Protocol: Enables a registered client to receive notification of any state changes on a continuously available server, without needing to wait for the connection to time out. This ensures that there is a fast notification and recovery time from an unplanned failure, such as a network loss.
- SMB3 Multichannel: Enables file servers to use multiple network connections simultaneously. This increases the network performance and availability of the file servers, and improves data throughput and fault tolerance. With SMB3 Multichannel, applications can utilize all available network bandwidth and increase resilience during network failures.