Steps To Access AWS FSx From Windows Server

In this blog, we will show you the steps to access AWS FSx from Windows Server.

BENEFITS OF AWS FSx

• Using Fsx we can run high-performing file systems without any hassle.
• It’s simple and fully managed.
• Highly available and durable.
• Pay only for used resources.
• It’s very easy to integrate with other AWS services.

REQUIREMENT

• Windows Active Directory
• AWS Account

Note: In this demo, we are using AWS Managed Microsoft AD.

ENVIRONMENT SETUP

• We are using the AWS Sydney region for this demo.
  

• Also, we have created a new VPC with 2 subnets (Private & Public).

CREATING AWS DIRECTORY SERVICE

• Login to your AWS account and search for Directory Service.

• Click on Setup Directory.

• From the list of directory types, select the AWS Managed Microsoft AD option and click Next.

• Select the Standard Edition and also provide the FQDN name for your AD domain.

• Select the VPC from the drop-down list that contains your active directory service. Leave the remaining options as default.
  

• Review the selected options and click on Create Directory button.

• It takes at least 30 minutes to complete the operation.

• The AD was created successfully.

AWS FSx CREATION

• Go to your AWS account and search for AWS FSx and click on it.

• From the new screen, click on create file system button.

• Then select Amazon FSx for the Windows File Server option and click Next.

• Provide a name for this file system.

• For this demo, we are using the single-AZ deployment type and HDD type as SSD with a minimum size of 32 GB. Also, we leave the default throughput capacity as 32 MB/s.

• Select the corresponding VPC for this File system. We are using the existing VPC which we used for the AWS Directory service.

• Also, We have added the below list of ports in the AWS security group (AZ-VPC-SG) list.

• For more information, please refer to the below links.

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/latest/WindowsGuide/limit-access-security-groups.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/latest/WindowsGuide/self-manage-prereqs.html?icmpid=docs_fsx_console

• Once you verified all the required ports are added in the incoming traffic, you can move on to select the AWS Managed Microsoft Active Directory option under windows authentication.

• Verify the selected options on the summary page and click on Create File system.

• After 20 minutes, AWS FSx was created successfully.

UPDATING DNS IP’s

Note: We have created a new EC2 instance under the Sydney region for this demo.

• Login into a windows machine and open windows network connection.

• Right-click on the network and select properties.

• Select TCP/IP v4 and click on properties.

• Add the newly created AWS managed Microsoft Active directory DNS addresses as Preferred & Alternate DNS servers.

• Click OK to save the changes.

ADDING THE SERVER TO THE DOMAIN

• Right-click on the My Computer and select properties.

• Under computer name & domain, select change settings.

• Again click on the change button to add this machine to a domain.

• Select the Member of option and add your domain name and click OK.

• It will prompt for domain login credentials, Provide that information and click on OK.

• The server added to this domain successfully.

• Restart the server to apply the changes.

• Once the server is back online, Go-to my computer and click on the Computer tab then select map a network drive.

• Go to AWS Fsx and select the newly created file system.

• Then select on Attach button.

• From the pop-up screen, copy the DNS name.

• Paste it in the network share path on the windows server. Then click on Finish.

• Provide the AD admin login credentials from the pop-up screen to complete the drive mapping process.

• Now the windows Fsx drive is shared successfully.

Thanks for reading this blog. We hope it was useful for you to learn about the steps to access AWS FSx from Windows Server.