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Windows Storage Spaces


Storage pools and spaces is a new storage technology, first introduced in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, that allows the user to combine various (not always similar) drives into a kind of a RAID or compound volume. First, the drives are combined into a storage pool, then several storage spaces with striping (similar to RAID0), mirroring (similar to RAID1), and parity (similar to RAID5) can be created in that storage pool. You may read more about storage pools and spaces in the Microsoft's Storage Spaces: FAQ .

R‑Studio supports Windows Storage Spaces created by Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10/​Threshold 2/​Anniversary/​Fall Creators updates .

When drives from a storage pool are connected to a Windows computer, it automatically detects them and assembles storage spaces accordingly.

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Storage spaces

Storage pools and spaces can be managed using the Storage Spaces item in the Control Panel .

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Storage spaces

R‑Studio detects drives (or their images) from storage pools and creates storage pools and spaces automatically. At the same time, R‑Studio gives access to the parents of the storage spaces (drives and images).

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Storage spaces in R-Studio

If recognized parents of a storage space, including drive images, are added to R‑Studio later, it automatically adds them to their respective storage space.

When an automatically created storage space is selected, R‑Studio highlights its components. It also highlights the storage space that Windows may itself create from the same components.

R‑Studio shows the components of the selected storage space on its WSS Components tab.

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WSS Components tab

R‑Studio shows broken storage spaces in pink.

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Broken storage spaces in R-Studio

The WSS Components tab also allows you to manually disconnect or connect the components, for example, if they are such damaged that R‑Studio cannot recognize them as parts of a broken storage space. Select the object from the drop-down box and click the Connect button. R‑Studio displays the objects it recognizes as the components of the storage space in blue.

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Adding a component manually

You may immediately switch to the storage space configuration that R‑Studio believes most probable by clicking the Reassemble button.

R‑Studio shows storage spaces with manually added components in blue:

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Storage spaces with added parents in R-Studio