What Is FSRM and How to Install & Configure it on Windows?

What is FSRM?

What is FSRM? FSRM is the abbreviation of File Server Resource Manager. FSRM is a role service in Windows Server that allows you to manage and classify data stored on file servers. You can use File Server Explorer to automatically classify files, perform tasks based on these classifications, set quotas on folders, and create reports that monitor storage usage.

It applies to Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2. File Server Resource Manager only supports volumes formatted with the NTFS file system. The elastic file system is not supported.

Functions of FSRM

FSRM has five main functions. You can use PowerShell or Manager Microsoft Management Console to manage and configure all five functions.

Quota management – helps administrators limit the space that can be used for folders and volumes and can also be applied to new folders and volumes.

File management tasks – help administrators apply conditional operations or strategies based on the classification.

Storage reports – help administrators determine disk usage trends and how data is classified.

File screening management – help administrators control which files end users can store on the file server.

File classification infrastructure – automates the process behind classification, so administrators can have a more effective and deeper understanding of data.

Applications of FSRM

Some practical applications of the File Server Resource Manager include:

• Create a 200 MB quota for each user’s home directory and notify them when they use 180 MB.
• It is not allowed to store any music files in personal shared folders.
• Schedule a report that runs every Sunday night at midnight to generate a list of recently accessed files in the previous two days. This can help you determine weekend storage activity and plan server downtime accordingly.
• Create a file classification rule to mark any file containing at least 10 social security numbers as having personally identifiable information.
• Expired all documents that have not been modified in the last 10 years.
• Use the file classification infrastructure with a dynamic access control scheme to create a policy that grants access to files and folders based on how the files are classified on the file server.

How to Install & Configure FSRM

How to install and configure FSRM? Follow the guide below.

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 do not have File Server Resource Manager installed by default. To install it, you must open the Server Manager and select the Add Roles and Features command from the Administration menu.

File Server Resource Manager is part of the file and storage service role. This role is installed by default, but File Server Resource Manager is not installed. Therefore, you need to expand the File and Storage Services role, then expand the File and iSCSI Services component, and then select the File Server Resource Manager option.

After the installation process is complete, you can start the File Server Resource Manager by selecting the File Server Resource Manager command from the Tools menu of the Server Manager.

Most organizations that use File Server Resource Manager use this tool for quota management. If you expand the Quota Management container of the console, you will see that it contains two sub-containers – Quota and Quota Template.

By default, there is no storage quota. You can define quotas by selecting the Quota container and then clicking the Create Quota link.

Defining quotas involves specifying the quota path (you can also choose to apply quotas to subfolders) and then selecting a quota template. You will notice that the dialog box provides thresholds for generating warning messages. The warning threshold is part of the quota template, but you can use this dialog to specify a custom value.

Final Words

Here is all the information about FSRM. You have known “what is FSRM” and how to install & configure it. Besides, you can know the functions and applications of it.