Shared folder Replication - Help Please

[Jill Zoeller [MSFT]]

First, make sure the share exists on both servers--it's not clear whether
the share is already created on that second server. Both shares should be on
NTFS volumes and the servers must run either W2K or W2K3.

Next, make sure you have DFS set up correctly. You'll need a domain-based
DFS root and a link under the root that points to two targets, which are the
shares on your two servers. I believe the Help system has procedures for
this--have you tried the Help? I think the terminology might have been
slightly different from W2K than W2K3.

After you have two targets under the link, the option to enable replication
should be there.

A good place for DFS/FRS design guidelines is the Designing and Deploying
File Servers link here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=16513 This
is for Windows Server 2003 but many of the same concepts apply to Windows
2000.

 

[Ash]

Hi,

I've never used the DFS in windows 2000, I have windows 2000 Adv. Server. I
have a shared folder on one server, and i wanted it to be replicated to the
other server. The problem is i just can't manage to get them replicated. Can
anyone give me just the guideline of how to do it, or refer me a page where
they show step by step on the method?

Thank you,

Ash

 

[Jill Zoeller [MSFT]]

Hi Ash,

It looks like you have followed the steps correctly. Are you saying that replication does not appear to be happening? Did all the files from Share A replicate to Share B or not? It's difficult to estimate how long it will take for all files to replicate from one server to another--it depends on the number and size of files, the network bandwidth, etc. Also, there is an AD polling delay that can take place before replication begins. At the end of this message I'm posting an explanation of the possible latencies for your information.

If you're not seeing any files replicate at all, there could be other problems that prevent replication from starting. Are you familiar with the FRS monitoring tool known as Sonar? This might be a good place to start. Here is a link to the tool: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/new/sonar-o.asp



Here is the text on latencies:
There are several latencies which can affect the lag time between setting up DFS link targets & having FRS working correctly. Factors which affect this lag time are: 1) is FRS already running on the targets, 2) are there multiple DCs in the domain, 3) if yes for '2', what is the AD replication schedule, 3) network issues.

If two clean machines (FRS not yet running) are added to a single DC domain, replication should be working very quickly (assuming the network is healthy). DFSGUI will trigger SCM to start FRS on both machines; these machines will both poll the DC, picking up all the appropriate info. By quickly I mean in a minute or so, though in our test lab I've seen some unexplained/uninvestigated delays of a couple minutes.

If the two machines already have FRS running, they won't pick up the new link info until they next poll the AD; by default, this occurs every 60 minutes. Worst case scenario, this causes a 60 minute latency.

If the domain contains multiple DCs, the two link targets may poll different DCs. So AD replication becomes a factor, in which the latency depends on how many hops there are between the two DCs being polled & the AD replication schedule. A reasonable worst case scenario (with default AD replication schedule) would see a couple hour latency.

Combine the AD replication & FRS polling latency & you could see delays up to a few hours.

Users can call 'ntfrsutl poll /now' on the link targets if FRS to force them to poll the AD immediately.