Windows Server RAM Disk Setup Guide [2012 2016 2019 2022]
17#Windows #Server #RAMDisk
Full steps can be found at https://i12bretro.github.io/tutorials/0524.html
NOTE: RAM disks by their very nature are cleared on reboot. Do not use them to store any data that cannot be lost. A suitable use case would be temporary session files for a web server
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Installing iSCSI Target Server
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01. Launch Server Manager if it does not automatically load
a. Click the Start button ≫ Server Manager
03. Click Manage ≫ Add roles and features
04. Click Next on the Before you begin screen
05. Select Role-based or feature-based installation ≫ Next
06. Leave Select a server from the server pool selected and select the current server ≫ Next
07. Expand File and Storage Services ≫ Expand File and iSCSI Services ≫ Select iSCSI Target Server
08. A popup will appear with additional required roles and features, click the Add Features button
09. Click Next
10. Click Next on the Select features screen
11. Click Install on the confirmation screen
12. Leave the installation progress screen open until the install completes
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Creating the RAM Disk
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01. Launch Powershell as administrator
02. Enter the following commands to create the RAM disk, replacing the IP address with the current server's IP address
# allow iSCSI loopback registry setting
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\iSCSI Target' -Name AllowLoopBack -Value 1
# start the iscsi initiator service
Start-Service -Name MSiSCSI
# set the iscsi initiator service to start automatically
Set-Service -Name MSiSCSI -StartupType Automatic
# create the ram disk, changing size as needed
New-IscsiVirtualDisk -Path "ramdisk:RAMDisk.vhdx" -Size 256MB
# initialize iSCSI target
New-IscsiServerTarget -TargetName RAMDisk -InitiatorIds @("IPAddress:192.168.0.65")
# connect to the ram disk
Add-IscsiVirtualDiskTargetMapping -TargetName RAMDisk -DevicePath "ramdisk:RAMDisk.vhdx"
03. Back in Server Manager, select Tools ≫ iSCSI Initiator
04. Enter the IP address in the Target field ≫ Click Quick Connect...
05. Click Done
06. Back in Powershell, run the following command
# initialize the disk as NTFS
Get-Disk | Where partitionstyle -eq 'raw' | Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle MBR -PassThru | New-Partition -DriveLetter R -UseMaximumSize | Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "RAMDisk" -Confirm:$false
07. Open File Explorer and the new RAM disk should be listed as a usable NTFS drive
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Re-creating the RAM Disk on Boot
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After the RAM disk has been setup initially, follow the steps below to have it recreated on system boot.
01. Open a text editor
02. Paste the following Powershell commands, changing the size as needed
New-IscsiVirtualDisk -Path "ramdisk:RAMDisk.vhdx" -Size 256MB
Add-IscsiVirtualDiskTargetMapping -TargetName RAMDisk -DevicePath "ramdisk:RAMDisk.vhdx"
Get-Disk | Where partitionstyle -eq 'raw' | Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle MBR -PassThru | New-Partition -DriveLetter R -UseMaximumSize | Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "RAMDisk" -Confirm:$false
03. Save the file as ramdisk.ps1 to a safe location to run from, c:\scripts for example
04. Click on the Start Button ≫ Type task ≫ Launch Task Scheduler
05. Right click the Task Scheduler Library folder in the left pane ≫ Create Basic Task...
06. Set the name to RAM Disk and optionally set a Description ≫ Click Next
07. For the Trigger, select When the computer starts ≫ Click Next
08. For the Action, select Start a program ≫ Click Next
09. In the Program/script field, paste the following:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
10. In the Add arguments field, paste the following, editing the path to the .ps1 file if necessary:
"C:\Scripts\ramdisk.ps1"
11. Click Next
12. Check the Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish box
13. Click Finish
14. In the Properties dialog, click the Change User or Group... button
15. Type system ≫ Press Enter
16. Check the Run with highest privileges box
17. Click OK to create the scheduled task
18. Reboot the server to verify the RAM disk is re-created automatically
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