Hyper-V over Server Message Block (SMB) signifies a newly emerging trend of cost reductions on storage hardware and a progressing standardization of storage virtualization solutions. In Windows Server 2012, an SMB file share can now store virtual machine (VM) and SQL Server resources in addition to traditional end-user files like office documents. SMB protocol is a network file sharing protocol allowing applications to read and write to files and requesting services from server programs in a computer network. Windows Server 2012 introduces the new 3.0 version of SMB protocol. A Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V host can employ SMB 3.0 file shares as shared storage for storing virtual machine (VM) configuration files, VHDs, and snapshots. Further, SMB file shares can also store user database files of a stand-alone SQL Server 2008 R2. This is a significant feature and provides a capability such that VMs or databases can be dynamically migrated.

With SMB 3.0, a storage administrator can now working on file shares instead of managing storage fabric and logical unit numbers (LUNs). The concepts and operations are directly applicable with those skill sets of Windows system administration, which reduces the overall training and operating costs. The hardware of SMB 3.0 file shares are based on existing converged network with no specialized storage networking hardware, which increases the benefits of existing networks and essentially reduces capital expenditures. The ease of provisioning and management of Hyper-V over SMB makes storage virtualization solution a much manageable and affordable solution with long-term reductions on capital and operating expenditures. Additional information of this exciting feature and capabilities is available at http://aka.ms/smb3.

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