Well… I messed up. I didn't do enough research and just checked out the headlines then jump head first into the new Scale-Out File Server that Windows Server 2012 R2 brings to the table. At first an Active-Active file server sounds like the only way to go but after you use it, see the performance hit then do more research (which tells you to basically only use it for VERY large files) you might be like me and want to jump ship!
My question is simple. Currently I have a LUN/DISK dedicated to my Scale-Out File Server. The disk (which is of course currently a Cluster Shared Volume AKA CLV) is about 6TB. I want to know can I convert it back to a normal File Server…
My thought was that I would just remove the Scale-Out File Server role and then move the 6TB disk from a CSV back to an available cluster disk. Then just create a regular File Server role and reuse the 6TB disk I have waiting for me.
My concern is that a CSV or the new Scale-Out File Server might have some funky file system or something special and my data might not be there when I bring the regular File Server back online.
Anyone ever try this before?
Best Answer
You certainly will lose and need to re-create your shares, but the data on your CSV should not be affected.
CSVFS is (mostly) a regular (NTFS) file system with a different filesystem driver stack (see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2013/12/02/10473247.aspx for further info), removing it from the list of cluster shared volumes and adding to available storage will not affect the files and data stored there.