Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (228 page)

server or servers. As recommended previously, pre-create the file share on an NTFS folder

and properly configure the share and NTFS permissions for each folder target that will be

added to the folder.

When a new folder is created with multiple folder targets, a replication group can be

created at the same time. To create a folder within an existing namespace, perform the

following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with local server

administrator privileges.

Installing DFS

1159

2. Pre-create and set NTFS permissions on the servers and shares that will host the DFS

namespace folder.

3. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select DFS

Management.

4. Select the Namespaces node, and then double-click the Namespaces node to expose

the existing namespaces.

5. If the desired namespace does not appear, in the Actions pane, click on the Add

Namespaces to Display link and follow the steps to search for and add an existing

namespace to the console view.

6. Select the desired existing namespace, and in the Actions pane, click on the New

Folder link.

7. When the New Folder window opens, type in the name of the folder and click the

Add button to locate the folder targets.

8. After all the folder target servers have been added to the New Folder window, click

OK to continue, as shown in Figure 28.24.

ptg

28

FIGURE 28.24

Defining a new folder and folder targets.

9. When a new folder is created and multiple targets are specified, a Replication pop-up

window opens, asking if a replication group should be created. Click Yes to create a

new replication group for the folder targets.

10. When the Replication Group and Replicate Folder Name window opens, review the

name of the proposed replication group name and the replicated folder name, and

click Next to continue. The prepopulated names will match the namespace and

folder names.

11. The Replication Eligibility page will display whether or not each of the folder targets

are capable of DFS Replication. If all targets are eligible, click Next to continue.

1160

CHAPTER 28

File System Management and Fault Tolerance

12. On the Primary Member page, click the Primary Member drop-down list arrow and

select the folder target server that will be used to populate the remaining member

folder targets. The data that exists in the folder of the primary target member will be

replicated to each of the other targets. After selecting the desired primary server,

click Next to continue.

13. On the Topology Selection page, select the desired replication topology. For this

example, select the Hub and Spoke option button, as shown in Figure 28.25, and

click Next to continue.

ptg

FIGURE 28.25

Selecting the hub and spoke replication topology.

14. On the Hub Members page, all servers will initially be listed in the Spoke Member

section. Double-click the desired servers to move them to the Hub Member section,

if they will be used as a hub server. Hub servers will replicate with all other servers

and spoke servers will only replicate with the hub servers defined on this page. Once

all the necessary hub servers are in the Hub Member section, click Next to continue.

15. On the Hub and Spoke Connections page, each of the spoke servers will be listed

with their required hub member and an optional hub member. Optional hub

members will only be populated if multiple servers are selected as hub members in

the previous step. Even though the hub servers are listed as required and optional,

the spoke servers will replicate with both and a connection between each hub

Installing DFS

1161

server and spoke system will be created. Also, hub servers will replicate with one

another as well.

16. On the Replication Group Schedule and Bandwidth page, select the desired band-

width limitation if desired or set the hours replication to allowed, and click Next

to continue.

17. On the Review Settings and Create Replication Group page, review the selections

and if everything looks correct, click Create.

18. On the Confirmation page, if the replication group creation tasks were all completed

successfully, click Close. Otherwise, select the Errors tab and review and repair the

errors, and rerun the Replication Group Creation Wizard.

19. Once the window is closed, back in the DFS Management console, double-click on

the Replication node to reveal the new replication group and select it.

20. In the tasks pane, with the new replication group selected in the tree pane, select the

Connections tab to review the connections created from the previous steps.

Best Practices for DFS Replication

Following best practices for DFS Replication can help ensure that replication occurs as

expected. Because file replication is triggered by a file version change or last-saved or

ptg

modified time stamp, a standard file share might generate many replication changes,

which can saturate the network bandwidth if no bandwidth constraints are placed within

DFS Replication connections. To avoid such scenarios, follow as many of these suggestions

as possible:

. Start with empty DFS namespace folders and targets to keep from having to replicate

any data at the root level. Also, this can simplify the restore process of a DFS root

folder because it contains only folders that are managed by DFS.

. Do not replicate data between DFS namespace shares because the namespace shares

28

will try to replicate the data in the namespace folders as well as the data contained

within the folder targets. Replication is not necessary if the folder targets are already

replicating. Because the roots will not replicate for redundancy, deploy domain DFS

namespaces and add additional namespace servers.

. Back up at least one DFS folder target and configure the backup to not update the

archive bit. Changing the archive bit might trigger unnecessary replication.

. Thoroughly test server operating system antivirus programs to ensure that no adverse

effects are caused by the scanning of files on a replicated DFS target. Also, configure

server antivirus to scan at write operations only and configure clients to scan on read

operations to ensure complete antivirus protection for DFS servers and clients.

. Verify that the drive that will contain the staging folder for a replication connection

contains ample space to accept the amount of replicated data sent and received by

the server.

1162

CHAPTER 28

File System Management and Fault Tolerance

Having a high number of read-write operations is not desirable because it causes heavy

replication, and in a scenario like this, DFS Replication should be performed during off-

peak hours unless Windows Server 2008 R2 DFS Replication can be used in conjunction

with bandwidth constraints.

Configuring DFS Read-Only Replication

Windows Server 2008 R2 now allows for a replicated folder to be defined as read-only. This

can be configured once a replication group is defined. As a best practice, when read-only

replicated folders are desired, select the No Topology option button on the Topology

Selection page when running the Replicate Folder Wizard. Once a replication group is

created, select the replication group in the tree pane, and in the tasks pane select the

Memberships tab. Right-click the desired Replicated Folder member and select Make Read-

only, as shown in Figure 28.26.

ptg

FIGURE 28.26

Converting a replicated folder to read-only.

As a best practice, when using read-only replicated folders, configure replication connec-

tions to be one-way to the read-only folder.

Enabling Access-Based Enumeration on a Domain-Based Namespace

in Windows Server 2008 Mode

When a domain-based namespace is created and Windows 2008 mode is enabled, access-

based enumeration can be enabled, but it is not by default. To enable access-based

enumeration on a domain-based namespace in Windows Server 2008 mode, locate the

Managing and Troubleshooting DFS

1163

namespace in DFS Management. Right-click the namespace and select Properties. Select

the Advanced tab and check the Enable Access-Based Enumeration for This Namespace

check box at the bottom of the window. Click OK to complete the change. One thing to

keep in mind is that this will apply to the entire namespace and any and all folders and

folder targets defined in the namespace.

Managing and Troubleshooting DFS

DFS can be managed through the DFS Management console included in the Windows

Server 2008 R2 Administrative Tools program group and in the Server Manager console.

DFS can also be managed in a command-line environment using the DFS command-line

utilities. These utilities include the following:

.
DfsUtil—
Can be used to manage DFS namespaces, servers, and clients. DfsUtil can

also be used to export DFS namespaces to XML files so they can be migrated to new

systems.

.
DfsCmd—
Can be used to manage the folders and targets within an existing DFS

namespace.

ptg

.
DfsrAdmin—
Can be used to perform actions on existing DFS Replication groups,

including adding new replication group folders and generating reports on existing

replicated folder members.

.
DfsrDiag—
Can be used to force replication, stop replication, or report on replica-

tion health.

Using the DFS management console, DFS standalone and domain-based roots can be

shown and managed in a single DFS console window. The administrator can check DFS

root and folder targets for availability by checking the Connection status of all targets for

28

a particular replication group. Using the DFS Management console, a DFS administrator

can also create a DFS Replication Diagnostic report. To create a diagnostic report for repli-

cation, perform the following steps:

1. Open the DFS Management console and expand it.

2. Double-click on Replication to reveal the desired replication group. If the desired

replication group is not shown, right-click the Replication node, select Add

Replication Groups to Display, and follow the steps to add the desired group.

3. Right-click the desired replication group, and select Create Diagnostic Report.