Attaching an iSCI LUN to Windows Server 2016 - Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations On-Premise at Home - 03

Regardless of the NAS device you may be using, the following steps can attach iSCI storage to your server for VM storage.  These are the steps I took:

Attach an iSCI LUN to Windows Server 2016

1. Log into the Hyper-V server
2. Open the iSCI Initiator program
3. Type in the static IP address of your NAS

4. Click "Quick Connect"

5. Click "Done."  The virtual disk name should appear "Connected."
6. Click the "Volumes and Devices" tab
7. Click "Auto Configure" button.  This should add your volume to the list

8. Start > Run  compmgmt.msc
9. Click on Storage > Disk Management.  The new disk (LUN) should appear offline.
10. Right click and choose "Online"

11. Right click and choose "Initialize Disk"

12. Choose to create a GPT (GUID Partition Table) for the disk.

13. Right click the unallocated area and choose "New Simple Volume..."

14. Format the volume as NTFS, 64K, give it a label, and quick format.

Change Default Hyper-V VM Folders

15. Open Hyper-V Manager
16. Click on your server
17. Click "Hyper-V Settings"
18. Change the "Virtual Hard Disks" setting to a subfolder of your new drive.

19. Change the "Virtual Machines" folder to your new drive.

We are now ready to create virtual machines!!

(Optional) Download AIDA64 or IOmeter and run a disk test.

Reference: How to use iSCSI Targets on a Windows Server

Setting up iSCSI with Synology - Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations On-Premise at Home - 02

Previous Post: Windows and Hyper-V Installation - Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations On-Premise at Home - 01

To support the number of VMs and possible environments I want to host I will be leveraging a network attached storage (NAS) device to store data.  My network backbone is a full gigabit running on CAT6 plenum-rated cable.  The disks and more details will be explained in detail when I do some benchmarking.

iSCSI Setup on Synology NAS

I own a Synology Network Attached Storage (NAS) device which can support recording surveillance, running VMs, private cloud drive, and many more features.  The Synology device is more resilient than the used hard drives in the server I recently bought.  So I created a one terabyte LUN for storing VM configuration and drives.  If the server's hard drives crash, I can either purchase a replacement drive and rebuild the RAID array or reinstall Windows with the drives left.  Either way I will be able to reattach the virtual machine files from the Synology NAS and run them with little pain.  Additionally it is 'thin provisioned' meaning the storage is not taken until it is used by a VM.

Here are the steps I took:

1. Log into the DSM interface
2. Open the Storage Manager 'app'
3. Click iSCSI LUN
4. Click "Create" button
5. Click "Next", thereby accepting a File-Level LUN

6. Change the settings to Advanced LUN, 4KB, and the appropriate capacity.
7. Click Next

7. Set your own IQN
8. Click next

9. Click Apply

You now have a LUN available to your network which we will connect to our Hyper-V server.

Reference: How to use the iSCSI Target service on Synology NAS

Setting up Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations- on-premise...at home!

In order to build some of the automation tools and test configurations I set down the path of purchasing a server.  There are many servers available with decent specifications, still under warranty, and with good performance.  The better deals are enterprise hardware being replaced (used)- look at Dell PowerEdge and HP ProLiant hardware.  In contrast to a beefy gaming PC, these used enterprise servers are built to run 24x7 until they die, decade(s) later.

The older the hardware, the less efficient it is with power, and therefore the server produces more heat.  Living in a warm client, my office already is warmer by several degrees because of my office setup: two computers, three monitors, and peripherals.  You can reference Intel's Ark web site by putting in the processor number and it will tell you the wattage as well as the year that the processor was introduced.

I chose to go with a tower, HP ProLiant ML350 G6 Server, in the hopes that it will have better airflow and less noise.  It supports two hex-core processors (24 threads) and has 18 DIMM for memory (max 192GB).  The HP servers seem to be cheaper than the Dell, however there are reports of hypervisor issues with HP, so I'm crossing my fingers.  With the tower form factor, I have more flexibility for changing fans to reduce noise.

For Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise Edition, keep in mind that:

• The minimum requirements for an all-in-one development box is 16 GB of RAM (24 GB recommended).  I believe LCS deploys a D13 v2 virtual machine which has 8 vCPU and 56GB of RAM.
• To support a sandbox deployment, the total minimum requirements are 36 cores and 128GB of memory (refer to System Requirements for On-Prem Deployment)
• VMs should have minimum 100+ write IOPS and SQL should have 2000+ write IOPS.

I plan on pushing the minimum requirements, first to explore how performance changes with different configurations and the usage on the server will be minimal.

Join me on this adventure, including setting up the server, environment, LCS, and Dynamics installation.