Creating a shared network drive, automated backup drive, folder sharing permissions, and mapping a network drive in a Windows Server VM.

For my first blog, I will be testing out some features that can be done in a Windows Server Virtual Machine. These steps are referenced from a Youtube video made by Cobuman. This is Part 1 of 2 of this mini-project I worked on.

Prerequisites

• Virtualization platform such as VirtualBox or VMWare
• Hardware requirements to run a Virtual Machine (VM) such as CPU or RAM.
• Windows Server installation ISO file
• Admin access to the host machine for the Windows Server VM

Procedure

Creating the shared network drive using some unallocated space

Right-click the Start menu and select Disk Management. Right click any drive (ex: C drive) and select Shrink Volume. You can select how much MB you want to shrink it by. Click Shrink and the result will be more unallocated space shown in Disk Management.

Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. Specify a simple volume in MB.

Click Next, assign a drive letter (ex: H:), next, format the Volume with default settings (or change the volume label name), click next and finish.

You should see the new assigned drive in disk management and file explorer.

Creating a shared folder through Server Manager

Open and refresh the Server Manager, so the new drive is discovered. Click File and Storage Services -> Volumes -> Disks then right-click the new drive.

Click New Share, SMB Share Quick -> Next -> Select the shared drive location -> Next -> Create a share name -> Next -> Specify permissions to make sure admins have full access (note: I kept it at default) -> Next and Create.

The results will show a shared folder that can be seen by those who have access to that drive (ex: SharedNetworkFolders).

Note: I created some extra folders in the sharednetworkfolder.

Creating an automated backup or Shadow Copy

In Disk Management, right click the unallocated space and create a new assigned drive for the backup (similar process as the H drive).

In file explorer, right click a drive, select Configure Shadow Copies, select a volume and go to settings.

There are options for selecting the storage area to be copied from, the size limit for that copy, and the scheduling for creating the backup. The schedule can range from weeks to months or days with a start time. It is recommended to set up this backup outside of work hours.

Click Ok and there should be an indication for the scheduled backup next to the selected volume.

Setting up access permissions to a specific shared drive/folder and creating a group for the permissions

I created a group in Active Directory Users and Computers for the Finance Department to have access to the H drive.

Then, go to File Explorer, right-click the shared drive and select properties then Security -> Edit. For these permissions, I removed Everyone (as a group), selected Add, assigned Administrator then clicked Ok. You can set this up differently by assigning permissions to another group or user.

Next, go to the Finance folder created in the shared H drive. Right click and select Properties -> Security -> Add. Then, check the names and assign the group for the H drive access. You can add a modify permission in case they need to add their own folders. Now, the Finance Department H drive group can only access the Finance folder.

Active Directory Configuration for adding users to a group

In Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click “Find” on the domain. Add a name of a user and select Find Now to see the results. After selecting that user, click “Member Of” then Add. Assign the user to the group with the H drive access. Click Ok. Refer to the network path in the SharedNetworkFolder to see if a user on the domain has access to that folder directory.

Note: I signed into a user account to verify if I could see the network path for the shared drive in File Explorer. When the user creates a file in that shared folder, it appears on other accounts with the same access to that folder.

Mapping the network drive

Right click “This PC”, select Map Network Drive, assign the drive letter and shared Finance folder link from that network path. It is recommended to use the same drive letter you chose previously. If you select finish, then the drive will show up on the user’s account in File Explorer.

Link to Part 2: https://medium.com/@temptage01/creating-a-post-logon-script-and-gpo-using-powershell-to-map-a-network-share-drive-4cad27fe55c8