Managing Windows Server 2008 R2 Disks

Disks in Windows Server 2008 R2 can be managed using a few different tools included with the operating system. Most disk-related tasks can be performed using the Disk Management console, the Share and Storage Management console, or the diskpart.exe command-line utility, but to manage a new disk just added to Windows, the Disk Management console must be used.


The Disk Management MMC Snap-In
The Disk Management console, or snap-in, can be used to initialize and configure new disks; import previously configured disks; convert basic disks to dynamic disks; create, extend, and shrink disk volumes; format disk volumes; enable shadow copies; and many more disk-related tasks. Disk Management can also be used to create and attach or mount
VHD files to the host operating system for quick volume access and data management.
This snap-in is included as part of the Computer Management console and the Server
Manager console, but it can also be added to a separate Microsoft Management Console window. The Disk Management console can be used to manage disks on remote machines as well as local disks.


Diskpart.exe Command-Line Utility
Diskpart.exe is a command-line utility that administrators can use to manage Windows disks. Most disk tasks that can be performed using the Disk Management console can also be performed using this command-line utility except for initializing new disks. When issues are encountered with a Windows Server 2008 R2 that won’t boot, diskpart.exe might be the only option available when booting into the recovery environment, so administrators should be well versed and comfortable with this tool.

Source of Information :  Sams - Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (2010)