Get in Sync with DFSR

Clicking Next again takes Emily to the Primary Folder Target step, where she chooses the folder that will initially be authoritative for the replica set. Designating a primary folder means that if there's any content already in the replica set, the contents of the primary folder will override the preexisting content in the replica set. Files that don't exist in the primary folder are removed from view. Those files aren't deleted, but are moved to a hidden system folder named DfsrPrivate\PreExisting under the folder root, as a DFSR log message tells you in clear English. (Concise, informative logging is one of the much-needed improvements DFSR offers over FRS.)

In the Topology Selection step, which Figure 2 shows, Emily can choose from a huband-spoke replication topology, a full mesh topology, or build her own custom topology. A hub and spoke topology (where multiple branches replicate with one or more centralized servers) is more scalable, but a mesh topology is highly fault tolerant. In a mesh topology, each node is connected directly to the other nodes; consequently, in larger configurations a mesh topology can generate a lot of overhead for the servers. Since she has only four servers' content to replicate, however, Emily chooses the mesh topology.

The next step lets Emily tailor the amount of bandwidth that replication consumes. Because she doesn't need to replicate data on less than 24 hours notice and the company's WAN circuits are only lightly used after working hours, she decides to replicate with a bandwidth of 64Kbps—a trickle—during the day and with full bandwidth between 8 P.M. and 7 A.M. She clicks the Days and Times button, then clicks Edit Schedule. In the Edit Schedule dialog box, which Figure 3 shows, she chooses a day and time by dragging the cursor over a block of hours, then selects a bandwidth to use during that period and clicks Add. The final screen of the wizard appears, and with the configuration complete, she reviews her choices by clicking the Create button to create the replication group and schedule. The Errors tab provides details on any errors in her configuration.

Figure 4 shows the DFS Management snap-in focused on the ISOs replication group Emily created. In the Actions pane, she can add members, change or verify the topology, delegate permissions, edit the replication schedule, and pretty much alter anything she initially configured. The Connections tab in the middle pane provides details of the replication connections, which were previously available only through the complicated Ultrasound utility for monitoring FRS.

Replication might not begin immediately, regardless of the schedule, because DFSR has preliminary work to do. It must create and populate a staging directory with files to be replicated, and it must establish both inbound and outbound connections with its other replica set members. The amount of time it takes to complete these steps depends on the amount of data on the primary originating share and on how much of that data already exists on the replica members. When it's ready, DFSR begins replicating data.

Run Reports
Emily wants to create a diagnostic report to see how the initial replication is coming along, so she clicks Create Diagnostic Report in the Actions pane. She can choose to look at disk space used, backlogged transactions and files, and replication efficiency, but accepts the default settings and gets the HTML report shown in Figure 5. The report reveals that she still has a little troubleshooting to do, because two servers aren't reporting and the others are low on disk space.

Not Your Father's DFS
Windows 2003 R2's DFS Namespaces and DFSR service represent major improvements in all aspects of DFS. Setting up and maintaining a namespace are much easier than they've ever been. If limitations in DFS have prevented you from using it in the past, it's time to revisit this capability.