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Watch this video to see how easy it is to make mass changes to Active Directory from an external text file without using complicated scripts.
start "Update Server1" robocopy c:\RepShare\ \\Server1\g$\Repshare\ /MIR /XO /R:5 /W:10 /X /log:c:\dfslogs\DFSCopy-Server1.log /XF *.DCN /XD CADD* DATA* ArcGIS9.
Without replication, Namespaces will allow you to connect to two servers using \\domainname\folder but if one folder in a namespace exists on both servers, the server that you see files from is chosen randomly, so if you have files on one server and not on another, whether you see the files or not depends on random chance.
If you have Namespaces and Replication going together, you can connect to a share using \\domainname\folder, and the folder points to a spot on both servers that have the exact same files. If you write a new file to the share, it is replicated to the other server at the set interval and will then be available on both servers and visible at all times.
the following could be true: \\server1.dfs.domain.corp\
Inside that shared there is a folder accounting. But that path for accounting is \\server2\accounting
the users see \\server1.dfs.domain.corp\
On the other hand if replication is enable, the DFS path that are enable for replication will be replicated.
\\server1.dfs.domain.corp\
Watch this video to see how easy it is to make mass changes to Active Directory from an external text file without using complicated scripts.
. "
then
I can not have DFS Share without replication (Atleast it is not recommneded) because it raises sync issues and users will not see the right files there.
But
According to Elmagoal here::
"The DFS shares do not have to be replicated. If you have DFS on one server and users are using the DFS shares they will only go to that server."
Do you mean this is the case when I have DFS share only on one server, right? What if the DFS share is actually having two servers listed there. Does it make replication required there as acbrown2010 said?
Create a scheduled task that runs a bat file nightly.
Here is some lines from that .BAT file
Open in new window
You have a share on two different servers. If you implement DFS on both servers, you will need to create a name for the namespace. From that point on, you can connect to the namespace by entering \\domain.local\<Namespace name> Once that is done, you can add folders to the namespace. If you were able to use replication, you could link the shared folders that would be replicated under one folder. But since you can't use replication, you have to set up a different folder for each server's share. So server 1's share is share1 and server 2's share is share2. You then create one folder in the DFS namespace and point it to server1. Create a second folder in the Namespace and point it to server 2's share. You then connect to Server 1's share with \\domain.local\<namespacen
What this does is make it easier for users to find shared folders on the network. Rather than getting to the shares with \\server1 or \\server2, then can get to it from the same path at \\domain.local
That's the only benefit that DFS namespaces alone give you.
Robocopy is a fine (yet not supported or recommended solution) as long as your files are not accessed frequently such as in the case of users' home directories or other file shares that are accessed multiple times daily. I have seen numerous support cases where the entire DFS structure needed to be recreated because they were not using DFS replication. (Most of them used robocopy) In 2003 R2 and later, Microsoft DFS replication has been vastly improved and now using Differential Replication only replicates the changes in files. This dramatically reduces network bandwidth usage and increases efficiency. I highly recommend using Microsoft DFS Replication over robocopy or third party replication solutions.
I recommend reviewing the articles below for further technical details.