General advice on setting up remote site in 2003 environment

[Curtis Fray]

Hi,

I have a Windows 2003 environment with mainly XP workstations. I have one
remote site on a slow link (128k). At the moment they have no servers on
site and are having obvious problems connecting to the DCs, data and
Exchange servers in our head office. We're going to be putting a server
onsite at their location but we'd still like to (if possible) keep the back
up and data all centralised at our head office.

On our data server there's one folder in particular they access. Is it
possible to set DFS up so this one folder replicates to their site and they
access it from their own server, while still keeping access to all the other
data on the main data server?

I'd just like to hear peoples thoughts of how they'd go about setting up the
remote site, and the best way to make use of DC, data, etc replication
across the slow link?

Thanks.

 

[BP]

Wouldn't it have to be a DC for NTFRS to allow
DFS functionality on the remote site? In other
words does ntfrs exist on a member server
and will dfs function without it if not?

 

[Phillip Windell]

site and are having obvious problems connecting to the DCs, data and
Exchange servers in our head office. We're going to be putting a server
onsite at their location but we'd still like to (if possible) keep the back
up and data all centralised at our head office.

Concerning the DC, you use Active Directory Sites with "site links" to
control replication over the slow link.

I'd just like to hear peoples thoughts of how they'd go about setting up the
remote site, and the best way to make use of DC, data, etc replication
across the slow link?

Moving "X" amount of bytes of Data over "X" amount of Bandwidth is still the
same (nearly impossible) task no matter what method you come up with. It is
still the same data and it still has to get there.

You have to specifically define the "data". The word itself doesn't mean
much. What the data actually is, what form it is stored in and how/why it is
accessed all plays into this. It is not a simple "off the cuff" answer.

 

[Curtis Fray]

Hi,

Thanks for the input. By "data" I mean the user's documents and email. We're
using folder redirection and their home folders are located on the servers
in our head office.

And yes, it would be a Domain Controller going in at their site if we take
this route.

I just really need general advice on the best practises and recommended ways
to set up a remote site which is running over a slow link.

Thanks again,

Curtis.

 

[Phillip Windell]

Thanks for the input. By "data" I mean the user's documents and email. We're
using folder redirection and their home folders are located on the servers
in our head office.

And yes, it would be a Domain Controller going in at their site if we take
this route.

If you use Exchange with Outlook (not Outlook Express) the mail stays on the
Exchange Server,..it does not "copy" to the Client, they simply read it
right off the Exchange Server. So there is very little traffic over the slow
WAN link unless they copy an attached file to thier desktop. When the
Exchange Server is properly backed up the mail is backed up with it.

If you're wanting to backup the user documments you might try using the Home
Folder Setting in the Profile part of the User account Properties. Have the
documents stored on a server at their own site (maybe the DC if that is the
only one there?) which can then be backed up. I can't give you any better
specifics thatn that. Our user keep thier documents within thier own normal
My Documents. I have shares on a Server that they can manually copy
"important" documents to if they want them to be backed up when the Server
is backed up. We don't do any of this over an slow WAN links.