This template will create a Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) Windows Failover Cluster Instance(FCI) using Windows Server 2016 in an existing VNET and Active Directory environment.

This template creates the following resources by default:

• A Premium Storage Account for storing VM disks for each storage node
• A Standard Storage Account for a Cloud Witness
• A Windows Server 2016 cluster for storage nodes, provisioned for Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) and the SQL Server 2016 role
• One Availability Set for the cluster nodes
• One Load Balancer for the cluster

To deploy the required Azure VNET and Active Directory infrastructure, if not already in place, you may use this template to deploy the prerequisite infrastructure.

Click the button below to deploy from the portal:

• The default settings for storage are to deploy using premium storage, which is strongly recommended for S2D performance. When using Premium Storage, be sure to select a VM size (DS-series, GS-series) that supports Premium Storage.

• The default settings deploy 2 data disks per storage node, but can be increased to up to 32 data disks per node. When increasing # of data disks, be sure to select a VM size that can support the # of data disks you specify.

• The default settings for compute require that you have at least 2 cores of free quota to deploy.

• The images used to create this deployment are

  • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter Edition - Latest Image

• To successfully deploy this template, be sure that the subnet to which the storage nodes are being deployed already exists on the specified Azure virtual network, AND this subnet should be defined in Active Directory Sites and Services for the appropriate AD site in which the closest domain controllers are configured.