Why does storage space say I am using more space than I am using? (server essentials)

[munkle]

I'm using storage spaces to combine a 2tb and 3tb drive. It is complaining that I am low on space but I'm not. This is server essentials 2012 and only thing on the drive is backups of my computers that it runs. Here is a pic so you can see what it is showing:

 

[Tawnos]

Stabs in the dark:

Are those the only two drives in your system? Can you post a screenshot of disk management?

 

[munkle]

Well its technically 3 drives, two in the storage pool and the os ssd. disk management says I'm not using as much space as the storage pool claims I am.

 

[munkle]

Something odd is going on. I decided to add 300gb of junk to the storage space just to see what would happen. Once it hit the 4.54TB it started releasing space and now sits at 4.11TB used. So its not actually blocking me from adding files. I've no idea really why its displaying like it is.

 

[mmtom]

Just some shots in the dark:

Is it a thin provisioned space? Thin provisioned spaces support UNMAP/TRIM and I think that is handled by the defrag service. If defrag isn't running, you probably won't see it TRIM until something calls the function (like adding another space).

http://feishare.com/attachments/article/289/thin-provisioning-windows-server-8.pdf

Run defrag and see what it says for the pool there. Odds are it's just been growing in space without trimming, so you're seeing the inconsistency.

 

[munkle]

Just some shots in the dark:

Is it a thin provisioned space? Thin provisioned spaces support UNMAP/TRIM and I think that is handled by the defrag service. If defrag isn't running, you probably won't see it TRIM until something calls the function (like adding another space).

http://feishare.com/attachments/article/289/thin-provisioning-windows-server-8.pdf

Run defrag and see what it says for the pool there. Odds are it's just been growing in space without trimming, so you're seeing the inconsistency.

You sir are a genius, I ran the optimize drives and it released all the "used" space.

 

[DPI]

Hope you have good backups of your storage spaces data because its far from ready for primetime

 

[mmtom]

Awesome, glad to hear it worked. I'd check to see if the ScheduledDefrag task under Task Scheduler->Microsoft->Windows->Defrag is running properly. That should be taking care of the defrag periodically.

 

[mmtom]

Hope you have good backups of your storage spaces data because its far from ready for primetime

I've been using Storage Pools since 2012 was in beta and have had zero issues. That includes multiple OS reinstalls.

 

[DPI]

I've been using Storage Pools since 2012 was in beta and have had zero issues. That includes multiple OS reinstalls.

Great for you, not great for all those that have lost data because they encountered bugs/problems - easily googled. Bottom line dont come crying here if you lose data or your drive suddenly appears as RAW and you didn't have a backup.